{ LIBRARY UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO JV7 WILLIAM and indebted to him for the very appointment which he then held, M. de Gi6 could not anticipate that either would be guilty of a breach of trust. His threat was speedily followed up, for, leaving the apartment with the mien of a chafed lion, he gave immediate orders for stopping the boats which the queen 'had freighted upon their passage ; but he had received his information too late to render this practicable, as they had passed Amboise before the news reached him ; when, resolved not to be thwarted in his design, he no sooner ascertained the fact than he despatched his mounted men-at-arms to seize their lading at Namur. The haughty spirit of the queen, on being apprised of this bold proceed- ing, was instantly aroused ; and when, contrary to all expectation, Louis XII. began slowly to recover from his malady, she availed herself of the increased influence which she had obtained over him during his sufferings to represent the conduct of the governor of Amboise in the darkest colours ; care- fully avoiding the main subject of her displeasure, and basing her accusations upon the fact that the marechal had indulged in insulting reflections, not only upon herself personally, but also upon the king, and treated with contemptuous disapproba- tion many public acts of his government. The great regard which Louis had long felt for M. de CHAP, i FRANCIS THE FIRST 35 Gie rendered him reluctant to give credence to this report ; but Anne met his doubts by affirming that she could produce witnesses to the truth of what she had advanced ; and thus the king found him- self compelled to put the marechal upon his trial. Numerous witnesses appeared against him when he was cited before the parliament of Toulouse on the charge of lese-majestt; and among the rest, Madame d'Angouleme, who, in her thirst for ven- geance, was arrested neither by the consideration that the marechal had fallen under the displeasure of Anne in order to protect the interests of her own son, nor even by the fact that in her eagerness to injure M. de Gie she was furthering the views of a woman whom she hated. The marechal treated alike the accusation and the witnesses with haughty contempt ; and the only reproach which he uttered to Louise de Savoie, when he perceived that the most virulent of his accusers were herself and Pontbriant, was contained in words which cannot fail to remind the reader of the dying exclamation of Wolsey : " And you too, Madame ? Had I only served my God as I have served you I should have little to regret upon my deathbed." After numerous deliberations and delays the parliament ultimately acquitted M. de Gie of the crime of lese-majestt, but, by a singular inconsist- ency, which savoured strongly of extraneous influ- ence an inference which is, moreover, strengthened by the fact that Anne, whose natural cupidity was 36 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, i notorious, had employed no less a sum than thirty- two thousand livres in urging his judges to greater severity and despatch pronounced that for certain excesses and other delinquencies the Marechal de Gie should be deprived of the title and office of Governor of the Comte d'Angouleme and his com- mand of the castles of Amboise and Angers ; and that for the space of five years he should abstain from the exercise of his functions as Marechal de France, during which period he should be exiled from the residences of the Court. M. de Gie" bore his disgrace as philosophically as he had borne his prosperity ; and, resigning his for- feited dignities, retired to Anjou, where he lived surrounded by splendour and totally indifferent to the exultation of those who had conspired against him. The implacable nature of Anne de Bretagne dis- played itself upon this occasion in a marked manner. When urged by Pontbriant to suggest that the cul- prit should be subjected to the question, in order to compel him to a confession of his crime, she declared that she had no wish to see him condemned to die, as were he to lose his head he would soon be un- conscious of the degradation to which he was now subjected ; but that, on the contrary, her desire was that he should live, in order that he might contrast his present disgrace and insignificance with his former greatness ; and amid regret, suffering, and mortification endure a lasting agony which, to his proud spirit, would be more bitter a hundredfold than death itself. CHAP, i FRANCIS THE FIRST 37 Meanwhile her late alarm had rendered her only the more determined to accomplish her project re- garding the disposal of Brittany, and to crush the hopes of Louise de Savoie that her son would one day inherit her beloved duchy ; and she accordingly urged on the secret correspondence into which she had already entered with the son of the Archduke Philip with increased eagerness and with so much success that this prince, in conjunction with Maxi- milian, finally opened a negotiation with Louis XII. which terminated in the treaty of Blois, by which it was stipulated that the Princesse Claude, with the present possession of the counties of Ast, Boulogne, and Blois, and the duchy of Brittany in perspective, upon the death of her mother, should be given in marriage to the young Due de Luxembourg. This matrimonial compact was a fatal blow to the ambition of Louise de Savoie and the pros- pects of her son. Madame d'Angouleme had, until that moment, never ceased to flatter herself that upon a point so vital to the interests of the nation, as well as so interesting to his own feelings, the will and wishes of the king must ultimately pre- vail ; and now she was fated to witness the failure of her anticipations ; while Francis, who had long considered the infant princess as his destined wife, not only found himself robbed of his bride, but saw his future kingdom shorn of some of its most im- portant and valuable provinces. CHAPTER II 1504-7 Marguerite de Valois asked in marriage by Henry VII. Refusal of Louis XII. Marguerite married to the Due d'Alen9on Her reluctance Motives of the king Her writings Relapse of Louis XII. Death of Isabella of Spain Marriage of Germaine de Foix with Ferdinand of Castile The States - General assembled Francis betrothed to the Princesse Claude Death of the Archduke Philip Jeanne la Folle The Pope determines on war Character of Julius II. Louis sends an army to Bologna Genoa revolts Wanton cruelties perpetrated by the Genoese Louis proceeds to Italy at the head of a large army Genoa capitulates Louis XII. takes possession of the city A Court festival Dancing bishops Interview between Louis XII. and Ferdinand Gonsalvo de Cardova Refusal of the Pope to meet Louis XII. WHEN the failing health of Louis XII. induced the belief that his life was drawing to its close, the hand of Marguerite d'Angouleme, the sister of the heir- presumptive to the throne, was asked by Henry VII. of England ; but after mature deliberation the Grand Council declined to sanction the marriage, being apprehensive, as they affirmed, that it would involve the two countries in perpetual warfare and tend to undermine the salic law in France. A second proposition of the same nature was also de- clined from similar motives ; while the king himself opposed her union with Charles of Austria, and declared his determination to bestow her in mar- riage upon Charles III., Due d'Alen9on ; a decision at which the high and already matured spirit of 1504-7 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I 39 Marguerite revolted ; perceiving, as she at once did, the intellectual inferiority of the man to whom she should thus be compelled to promise obedience and respect. It was, consequently, with bitter tears that she submitted t to the commands of the monarch and the wishes of her mother ; for she foresaw how little suited they were to each other, and how cheer- less was the prospect thus opened before her. The duke was deficient in all the brilliant qualities for which Marguerite was herself distinguished, nor did he even possess the negative merit of appreciating them in another ; and thus the young princess per- ceived that she must be sufficient to herself, while the bright illusion was for ever vanished which had led her to believe that she should be valued at her own hearth for the acquirements which it had cost her so much labour to attain. The only apparent motive by which Louis XII. had been impelled to insist upon this ill-assorted marriage was his desire to terminate a process then pending between the Due d'Alengon and the Comte d'Angouleme as the conflicting heirs of Marie d'Armagnac ; and it was accordingly arranged that on its celebration the latter should abandon his claim in favour of his sister, whose dowry thus amounted to four hundred and fifty thousand livres. No pecuniary consideration could, however, re- concile Marguerite to so repugnant a union ; and when she found it inevitable she declared that thenceforth she gave her heart to God, as she could never bestow it upon her husband ; a resolve which 40 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n it was, perhaps, beyond her power to fulfil, for it is certain that however actually innocent she may have been she was nevertheless morally guilty, inasmuch as she carried her predilections beyond the due bounds of female delicacy and warrantable friend- ship, although she may never wholly have forgotten her dignity as a woman and a princess. / Her attachment to Charles de Montpensier militated, moreover, against that perfect self-abnegation which she professed ; while her disgraceful adventure with Bonnivet, which she has triumphantly recorded in the fourth tale of the Heptameron, is so far from redounding to her honour either as a woman or a wife, that the reader feels the utter impossibility of its occurrence without a previous levity on her part which appeared to sanction the indignity to which she was subjected. Moreover, even her panegyrist Brantome is betrayed into the confession that "En fait de joyeusetds et de galanteries, elle montrait qu elle en savait plus que son pain quotidien" No marvel, however, when it is remembered that she was reared by Louise de Savoie, and became the willing confidante of her brother's gallantries. Among other frivolities unworthy of so superior a mind the Duchesse d'Alen^on originated the custom between friends of opposite sexes which, by autho- rizing them to style each other allied brothers and sisters, gave them the privilege of openly declaring their mutual attachment, to which, whatever might really be its nature or extent, it was understood that no scandal was to be attached. 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 41 Even with all due consideration of the lax state of society in that age, the mind and heart which could suggest and share in so unseemly a folly and so immodest an exhibition as this must have been perverted at the core ; and, as we read, we cease to wonder and to mourn over the prostitution of her fine talents, when we remember that so polluted a stream could produce no current of pure and health- ful fancy. In other respects the character of the Princesse Marguerite did credit to her mother's training. With all the natural energy of Madame d'Angouleme, she had more self-control ; and it was only in moments of great excitement that she suffered herself to be betrayed into any exhibition of un- womanly vehemence ; while her devotion to those she loved was almost chivalric. But her moral profligacy casts a dark shadow over the brilliancy of her other and more estimable qualities, by which they must ever be clouded in the eyes of posterity. The treaty of marriage between Claude de France and Charles de Luxembourg had scarcely been concluded when the king suffered a relapse of the same malady to which he had so nearly fallen a victim during the preceding year ; and the Car- dinal d'Amboise, 1 who foresaw the most dangerous 1 George, Cardinal d'Amboise, was born in 1460, in the castle of Chaumont-sur- Loire, near Montauban ; and was successively Bishop of Montauban, Archbishop of Narbonne, Archbishop of Rouen, and, finally, Cardinal and First Minister of Louis XII. from 1499 to 1510, the period of his death. It was by his advice that Louis undertook the conquest of the Milanese. He made strenuous efforts to obtain the tiara, but was defeated by the Cardinal of Rovera. 42 THE COURT AND REIGN OP CHAP, n results should it be accomplished, absolved the king from the fulfilment of his pledge, and induced him to execute a will, by which he directed that the Princesse Claude should become the wife of her cousin, the Comte d'Angouleme, so soon as their respective ages should render their marriage practicable ; and appointed the queen and Louise de Savoie joint regents of the kingdom in the interim. This testamentary document was drawn up on the 3 ist of May 1505, and contained the following passage: "Item. We very expressly will and command that our said daughter make her residence within our kingdom, without departing hence, until her marriage with our very dear and beloved nephew, the Due de Valois, Comte d'Angouleme, be duly solemnized." The recovery of the king, however, which shortly supervened, rendered the will nugatory ; and thus this extraordinary regency was not fated to take effect. It will, at the first glance, appear strange that Anne de Bretagne should offer no opposition upon this second occasion to the betrothal of her daughter with Francis, after having so strenuously laboured hitherto to prevent it ; but those whom she admitted to her intimacy were well aware that, although apparently passive, she was as much averse to it as ever, and as firmly resolved to discountenance their actual marriage ; a fact which her contribution of one hundred thousand crowns to the dowry of the princess sufficed ultimately to prove. The truth was, that she had by no means lost confidence in 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 43 her final success ; she had not yet relinquished the hope of again becoming a mother ; and she had every reason to conclude that Louis XII., having so unhesitatingly released himself from his solemn obligation towards Charles de Luxembourg, would, should he find it expedient to shake off the trammels of this second engagement, be even less scrupulous than before ; and she, therefore, continued to pursue her negotiations with Austria, as though the be- trothal determined by the monarch was to have no influence over the ultimate disposal of her daughter. The death of Isabella of Spain, which took place during this year, induced Ferdinand to make over- tures of peace to France ; and, in order to effect this object, he demanded of Louis the hand of his beautiful niece, Germaine de Foix, the daughter of his sister Marie, who had married Jean de Foix, Vicomte de Narbonne ; and at the same time that he gave his ambassadors authority to make this demand, he also accredited them to Francis, the heir-presump- tive to the throne, believing that Louis was then near his end. The proposition was accepted, and by a treaty signed at Blois, on the 1 2th of October, and destined on this occasion to prove valid, Louis ceded to his niece his claim to the kingdom of Naples ; on the condition, however, that should the princess die without issue, the Neapolitan territories should return to the crown of France. Ferdinand, on his part, pledged himself to pay to the French king one hun- dred thousand ducats annually for the space of ten years ; while the two monarchs were to ally them- 44 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n selves and their respective interests so closely as to form, according to their own expression, " two souls in one body ; " and to render to each other reciprocal assistance in every emergency without exception ; Louis XII. to furnish a thousand lances, and Ferdinand three thousand foot. The Spanish king moreover bound himself to grant a free pardon to all the Neapolitans who had embraced the French cause, and to restore their property. The marriage was accordingly solemnized ; and Ferdinand immediately left Spain, and proceeded to Naples. Delivered for a time from all prospect of foreign aggression, Louis applied himself to the internal economy of his kingdom ; and more desirous than ever to accomplish the union of his daughter with Francis, from having discovered the secret, and therefore more irritating, opposition of the queen, he caused an assembly of the States - General to be convened at Tours, which was understood to originate with the nobles themselves, but where the counsellors of the king instructed them before- hand in the role which they were expected to enact; and directed them to enforce upon the monarch the expediency of annulling the treaty to which he had previously bound himself by oath. This done, Louis repaired to Tours to give them the audience they had demanded, and received the deputies in the great hall of Plessis-les -Tours. On the right hand of the throne were stationed the Cardinals of Amboise and Narbonne, the chancellor, and a 1 504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 45 number of bishops ; and on the left, the Comte d'Angouleme, upon whom he had already bestowed the title of Due de Valois, the princes of the blood, the principal nobles of the kingdom, the president of the parliament of Paris, and some of the members of the council. Thomas Bricot, a canon of Notre Dame, and senior deputy of Paris, was selected to open the proceedings, which he did with considerable elo- quence ; and after having expressed to his royal hearer the gratitude of the nation for all the benefits which his subjects had experienced under his rule the reduction effected in the public taxes, the cessation of the formerly unrestrained licentious- ness of the soldiery, and the reformations which had taken place in the courts of justice, alike in Paris and in the provinces he concluded his harangue thus : " For all these reasons he should be called Louis XII., the Father of his People!" Loud acclamations greeted this burst of loyal affection ; and the king was so much moved by the general enthusiasm that he could not control his tears. When silence was restored, the orator sank upon his knee, an example which was followed by the whole of the deputies ; and, in this position, he resumed : " Sire, we are here by your good plea- sure, in order to proffer to you a request which involves the general good of your kingdom ; and this is, that your very humble subjects beseech you to bestow Madame, your only daughter, in 46 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n marriage upon Monsieur Francois here present, who is in all respects a Frenchman." By order of the king, the Chancellor Gui de Rochefort 1 replied to the States' deputies, inform- ing them that his majesty would confer with the princes of the blood upon the subject of the pro- posed alliance ; and the assembly was then ad- journed to the following day, when Louis, with a feigned reluctance which he was far from feeling, announced that "he condescended to their demand and request," and desired that the betrothal of the two children should take place on the second day from that time, which was the Feast of the Ascension. The youthful pair were accordingly solemnly affi- anced by the Cardinal d'Amboise in the presence of the whole Court ; and, previous to the ceremony, the chancellor read aloud the marriage articles, which secured to the Princesse Claude, even in the event of sons being subsequently born to the king, the counties of Ast and Blois, the lordships of Soissons and Coucy, and one hundred thousand crowns, given, as we have already stated, by the queen. Thus, long after she had despaired of such a triumph, Madame d'Angouleme witnessed her son's betrothal to the daughter of his sovereign, and saw him publicly recognized as heir-presumptive to the crown ; and, had she not been compelled to look through so long a perspective of time 1 Gui de Rochefort, Seigneur de Pleuvant in Burgundy, was the chamberlain and counsellor of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and afterwards passed into the service of Louis XI. Charles VIII. made him chancellor of France. 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 47 for at this period Francis had only attained his fourteenth and Claude her fourth year even her restless ambition would have been satisfied. The bad faith exhibited by Louis XII. in this uncompromising violation of a solemn treaty, and the ambiguous manner in which he sought to ex- cuse himself to the Austrian Court, in an autograph letter which he addressed to Guillaume de Croy, Sire de Chievres, 1 to whom Philip had confided the government of the Low Countries during his absence in England, and in which he declared that he had liberated himself from his engagement " for reasons which would be too long to relate," con- vinced its recipient that a war must necessarily ensue between France and his own sovereign ; and he accordingly took instant measures to fortify his frontier; but Philip, whose position in Spain was precarious, and who feared to engage in foreign hostilities while still contending with his father-in- law for the possession of Castile, replied evasively to the announcement which he received of the betrothal of the Princesse Claude to Francis ; asserting that he could not express any sentiment upon the subject " until he had first communicated 1 Guillaume de Croy, Seigneur de Chievres, Due de Soria, and Knight of the Golden Fleece, was the descendant of an ancient family, which derived its name from the village of Croy, in Picardy. He became celebrated for his military prowess, during the reigns of Charles VIII. and Louis XII. He was the governor of Charles of Austria, afterwards Emperor of Germany. Having allied himself to the fortunes of that prince, he was sent to Spain in the quality of viceroy ; but, while holding that important trust, he tarnished his reputation by the most extortionate exactions. He died at Worms in 1521. 48 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n and consulted with the king his father, and the King of Aragon his father-in-law, whom it con- cerned." The letter terminated with fervent ex- pressions of attachment to the person of the French monarch, but afforded no clue to the real feelings of the writer upon the point in question. The death of the Archduke Philip, who perished of pestilential fever at Burgos, on the 25th of September 1506, at the age of twenty-eight years, and only three months after his entry into Castile, suspended for a time all the warlike demonstrations which were beginning to develop themselves. The miserable and morbid state of mind of his widow, Jeanne la Folle, elder daughter of Isabella the Catholic, in right of whom she inherited the king- dom, necessitated the election of a more efficient governor. The condition of Queen Joanna was indeed deplorable, and forbade all hope of her ever again being enabled to assume the functions of a sovereign. Weak and suspicious, as well as jealous to a fearful excess, she had seldom, during the lifetime of her husband, left the suite of apart- ments appropriated to her use ; where, incapable of pursuing any occupation or amusement, she passed her time in wandering through the rooms, uttering incoherent menaces, and occasionally in- dulging in still more incoherent bursts of grief. The death of Philip had confirmed this incipient madness. She caused his body to be embalmed, and laid upon a bed of state in her own chamber, 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 49 dressed in the most magnificent manner ; while she sat beside it, with her eyes fixed upon the motion- less countenance, waiting for the first sign of that returning life which she believed was by some miracle to be restored to him. Her jealousy still continued as great as ever ; and from the period of the embalmment of the corpse she suffered no female to enter the room in which he lay. Nor did she falter in her task even for an instant ; it was in vain that she was entreated to open despatches, authorize orders, or sign state documents ; she an- swered every appeal by pointing with her attenu- ated finger towards the lifeless body, and briefly uttering, " Wait ! " The helpless condition of her children awakened all the best sympathies of Louis XII., and he caused a letter to be written to Margaret of Austria, in which he declared that he was willing to treat the sons of Philip as though they were his own. Maxi- milian, however, asserted that to him alone belonged the guardianship of his grandson, Charles de Lux- embourg, who, in default of his mother, must be recognized as King of Castile ; while Ferdinand, who had learnt the death of his son-in-law at Genoa, continued his route to Naples, calculating that the confusion which must exist in the kingdom at such a juncture would materially conduce to his own popularity and welcome. The calm was not, however, destined to be of long continuance, for while Spain, Germany, and France were passively awaiting the progress of VOL. i 4 50 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n events, Julius II., who filled the pontifical see, and who, in addition to his restless and warlike tastes, felt, or affected, as much contempt as dislike towards the two latter nations, which he qualified with the title of "barbarians," resolved to take the initiative, and to restore to the Church all the domains which had from time to time been wrested from it. His first object was the subjugation of Venice, as the most arrogant and the most powerful of those states which had openly declared their independence ; but the cause which he had most at heart was the de- struction of the French interest throughout Italy. The costume which had been adopted by the sovereign-pontiff, his flowing beard and bent figure, gave him an appearance of extreme old age, al- though, according to one of his historians, he had at this period only reached his sixty-third year ; but his mind was still strong and clear, and his passions violent. Haughty, irascible, and unscrupulous, he was nevertheless brave, judicious, and full of love for his country ; but the clerical habit sat loosely upon him, while his fingers clutched firmly the hilt of the sabre or the bridle of the war-horse. As a warrior Julius II. would have been a hero ; as a pope he was only a licentious and grasping churchman. Having raised both money and troops, the chagrin of Julius was excessive upon finding that a treaty into which he had induced Louis XII. to enter with Maximilian, for their joint invasion of the Venetian territory a treaty which had, moreover, been sub- sequently renewed at Cambray was set aside by 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 51 the more recent alliance formed between the French king and Ferdinand ; a circumstance which com- pelled him to abandon for a time the reduction of the Venetians and the recovery of the cities of Faenza and Rimini, of which, upon the ' death of Caesar Borgia, they had possessed themselves. Nevertheless he resolved not to delay the punish- ment of other delinquents, who had flung the yoke of the papal government from their necks ; and the first against whom he directed his arms were Jean Paul Baglioni, the hereditary sovereign of Perousa, and Jean Bentivoglio, who held a similar sway over Bologna, two of the most powerful cities of the pontifical states. The latter had purchased the pro- tection of France by the payment of a considerable tribute, and might therefore justly anticipate the aid of that country in an emergency like the present ; the rather, moreover, that Bologna, over which his family had reigned for more than a century, was esteemed essential to the defence of the Milanese ; but Julius was not to be deterred by this considera- tion, and, resolved at once to assert his own will and the authority of the Church, he called upon Louis to furnish him with troops and upon the Venetians to remain neuter. Taken by surprise, both the one and the other agreed to his demands against their better judg- ment ; and the warlike pontiff left Rome on the 2/th of August at the head of four hundred men-at- arms, and with a suite of twenty-four cardinals. He found no enemy to combat, however, in Baglioni, 52 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n who, terrified at his approach, advanced as far as Orvieto to meet him, and placed himself in his hands ; a confidence which was repaid by the Pope on his entrance into Perousa on the i3th of September by the restoration of his patrimonial property, with permission to reside as a private citizen in the city which he had hitherto ruled, while to the city itself he restored its republican administration under the control and direction of the holy see. The Prince Bentivoglio proved less amenable to the pontifical pleasure, and calculated upon that assistance from France for which he had paid so heavy a price ; nor is it doubtful that Louis himself, on recovering from his first panic at the un- foreseen movement of the Pope, would have willingly afforded it ; as on hearing that Julius had announced in public that he could calculate upon the support of the French monarch in his attack upon Bologna, Louis vehemently denied that he had given any pledge to that effect. The Cardinal d'Amboise, however, who was anxious to avoid a rupture with the Pope, so worked upon his mind that, once more falsifying a solemn engagement, he gave orders to M. de Chaumont, 1 his lieutenant-general in the 1 Charles d'Amboise, Seigneur de Chaumont, lieutenant-general of the army in the Milanese at the age of twenty-five years, and grand-master, was the nephew of the Cardinal d'Amboise, by whom he was entirely governed. Naturally brave, he never ceded an inch of the territory confided to his charge, but made several conquests both in that kingdom and Venice. He nevertheless committed two serious errors : the one in permitting Chapin Vitelli and the Venetian reinforcement to enter Bologna, while he wasted a day in endeavour- ing to negotiate a peace, and lost the opportunity of occupying the city, and reinstating the Bentivogli ; and the other, when he suffered i 5 o 4 -7 FRANC 'IS THE FIRST 53 Milanese, to march upon Bologna with a force of six hundred lances and three thousand Swiss ; and thus pressed on the one hand by the army of the Pope and on the other by that of his anticipated ally, Bentivoglio had no resource save to take refuge with his family in the French camp ; to abandon a principality which he had inherited from his an- cestors ; and ultimately to accept an asylum in Milan, which, together with a guarantee for the preservation of his property, was tendered to him by Chaumont. Julius II. established at Bologna, as he had previously done at Perousa, a government which was almost republican, and which continued to support itself in all its integrity until the close of the eighteenth century. The revolt of Genoa, which had been annexed to the crown of France at the same time as the duchy of Milan, immediately supervened, and Chaumont had no sooner interdicted all communi- cation between that city and Lombardy, while Yves d'Allegre marched upon Monaco in order to compel the Genoese to raise the siege of the fortress, than the rebels, thus driven to engage in an open and decided warfare with France, calculated upon the assistance of their allies to enable them to sustain so unequal a conflict. The Pope was their country- man, and, as they well knew, favourable to their interests ; while Maximilian had already warned Louis not to molest the Genoese, whom he re- Miranda to be taken, in spite of the resolute defence which it was making, and from motives of avarice dissolved the Italian bands. He died at the age of thirty-eight years. 54 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n garded as members of the empire : thus, believing themselves secure, they threw off the authority of France, and in compliance with their ancient custom, elected a new doge from among their own citizens, one Paul de Novi, a silk dyer by trade, and a man of extraordinary judgment, vigour, and decision. Louis XII., enraged by the wanton and barbar- ous cruelties exercised against the French prisoners who fell into the hands of the enemy, and whom they crucified, mutilated, and tortured, without distinction of age or sex, and, moreover, convinced that he owed the revolt to the machinations of the Emperor Maximilian and the Pope, at once placed himself at the head of an army of fifty thousand men ; and, accompanied by the Dues de Bourbon, Alen9on, and Lorraine, proceeded in person to attack the rebels. The royal forces had no sooner reached the entrance of the mountains of Genoa than the troops whom Paul de Novi had entrusted with the defence of the defiles fled before them, and the French encamped without opposition in the valley of Polsevera. Still, however, the city itself was enabled to offer a formidable resistance ; its natural resources being so great as to render it impregnable at a period when war had not yet become a science ; and the generals of Louis XII. were prepared for a long and murderous campaign. But Genoa was already divided against herself; intestine contentions had sapped her strength ; the wealthy citizens, ap- prehensive that should the city be captured it would be delivered over to pillage, refused to offer any 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 55 resistance ; while the lower orders, who had eagerly taken up arms in the hope of profit, upon finding themselves forsaken by their leaders, lost courage ; and although one body of men fought bravely on the height of the Belvidere, and had even, by their pre- parations for defence, caused considerable anxiety to Louis, it was a solitary effort, which was frustrated through the valour and intrepidity of Bayard, 1 who having been appointed equerry to the king had ac- companied him in this expedition, while still suffering from the effects of a wound received at Garigliano. The defeat of this outpost, upon which great hopes had been based, was so complete and so rapid that it struck terror into the garrison of the citadel, who immediately abandoned their post; and although the Genoese made a vigorous attempt to retake it they were repulsed, and thus found themselves com- pelled to send deputies to the French king to announce their submission, while Paul de Novi evacuated the city with a strong body of his com- panions in arms. On the 29th of April, Louis entered the conquered city on horseback, with his drawn sword in his hand, while the magistrates and people received him on their knees, holding olive branches and uttering loud cries for mercy. They were answered by a promise of pardon, but that pardon was far from 1 Pierre du Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard, surnamed " The Knight without fear and without reproach," was born near Grenoble, in 1476. This brave and loyal captain distinguished himself greatly during the wars of Italy. He defended Mezieres, and died on the retreat from Romagnano, in 1525. 56 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, n unconditional, seventy-nine individuals having been exempted from the amnesty and hanged upon gibbets erected in the public streets ; while the city, although protected from pillage, was con- demned to a fine of three hundred thousand florins, equal to half the amount of the national taxes of France one hundred thousand of which were, however, remitted, in consequence of the utter inability of the citizens to meet the demand ; but in lieu thereof a strong fortress named Codifa was con- structed near the outworks at their expense ; all their privileges, as well as their treaty with France, were committed to the flames, and a new munici- pality was finally established ; while, on the 5th of June following, Paul de Novi, who had taken refuge in Corsica, and Demetrius Giustiniani, another of their generals, were also executed. Louis then dis- banded his army, and with a small suite proceeded to Milan, "where," says the Loyal Servant, " Gian Giacopo Trivulzio, called by the French the Sire Jean Jacques de Trivulce, 1 gave him one of the 1 Jean Jacques Trivulce, Marquis de Vigevano, was the represen- tative of an ancient Milanese family, and embraced the profession of arms. He entered the service of Ferdinand I. of Aragon, King of Naples, and afterwards passed into that of Charles VIII. of France, when that prince undertook the conquest of the Milanese. It was he who delivered up Capua in 1495, an d who shared the command of the vanguard with the Mardchal de Gid at the battle of Fernoua. Appointed lieutenant-general of the French army in Lombardy, he took Alessandrie, and defeated the forces of Ludovic Sforza, Duke of Milan. He followed Louis XII. to the conquest of the Milanese in 1499, and distinguished himself by his bravery. The king confided to him the government of that duchy in 1500, and conferred upon him the b&ton of Mardchal de France. Trivulce fought with honour at the battle of Agnadello ; but, by his unpardonable negligence, caused the defeat of Novara. He was of great assistance to Francis 1504-7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 57 grandest feasts that ever was beheld in the house of a private nobleman ; for, from all one can learn, there were present at it more than five hundred guests, not including ladies, of whom there were a hundred or a hundred and twenty ; and it was impossible to be better entertained than they were, with dishes of the first and of the second course, with farces, plays, and other pastimes." Moreover, another historian informs us that at this entertainment " the king opened the ball with the Marchioness of Mantua, and that the Cardinals of Narbonne and St. Severin were among the dancers." Such an assurance appears startling until we remember that the higher churchmen of that period emancipated themselves without scruple from all the trammels of their holy calling ; and thus, while the cardinals above named joined in the bransle, the Bishop of Liege, another of the thirty prelates who had accompanied the monarch to Genoa, was study- ing the art of war, which he afterwards practised so skilfully in the cause of Charles V. From Milan Louis XII. proceeded to Savona, in order to have an interview with Ferdinand, who was about to resume the government of Castile, vacant by the early death of the Archduke Philip. The Spanish sovereign was accompanied by his young wife, by Germaine de Foix and Gonsalvo de Cor- dova, of whose popularity he had become so jealous that he feared to leave him at Naples. The admira- I. during the war of Italy in 1515, and was in the field at Marignano. He died in 1518. $8 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, n tion and respect which Louis entertained for this great captain were shown in the reception which he gave him ; nor did he appear to remember how greatly he had suffered through the very qualities which elicited his regard. At his request the high- est honour which could then be accorded to a subject was conceded to Gonsalvo, who was permitted to occupy a seat at the royal table ; while towards his niece the French king exhibited a warmth of affec- tion which, however it might tend to advance the interests of her husband, was far from pleasing to his nobility, towards whom she conducted herself with singular haughtiness and disrespect, not even excepting her brother, the young Due de Nemours ; showing herself, upon every occasion, as inimical to the French as though she had been born of another and an antagonistic nation. Louis had been desirous, during his sojourn in Italy, to secure an interview with the Pope ; but although the restless and ambitious prelate had availed himself of the French arms to subdue Bologna, and was even contemplating a fresh demand upon their services for the reduction of the Venetians, he affected to feel aggrieved and degraded by what he designated the introduction of the barbarians into Italy ; and, consequently, when the Cardinal d'Amboise solicited him to remain at Bologna in order, to receive the French king, he immediately departed for Rome, it being no part of his policy to conciliate where it was his ambition to command. CHAPTER III 1508-12 Julius II. endeavours to subjugate Venice The Venetians attempt to pro- pitiate Germany and Spain Treaty between the Four Great Powers The French army re-enters Italy Battle of Agnadello Success of Louis XII. Despair of the Venetians Weakness of Maximilian The Venetians take Padua The Swiss desert Flight of the Emperor Louis returns to France Hostility of the Pope towards France Defection of Ferdinand Louis threatened with excommunication The Pope pro- ceeds with his army to Mirandola Heroic defence of the Countess Francesca Pico Death of the Cardinal d'Amboise The Pope enters into a league with England and Spain Gallantry of Gaston de Foix Victory of Ravenna Death of Gaston de Foix The French return to the Milanese. INTENT upon the subjugation of Venice, Julius II., conscious of the unpopularity of that republic with the other European states, craftily endeavoured to increase the general feeling of dislike and suspicion which had been excited by her arrogance and pros- perity into jealousy and disgust ; nor was it difficult for him to attain his object. By her downfall every neighbouring kingdom became more or less aggran- dized ; and thus, having previously demanded from the senate the restoration of the possessions of the Church in Romagna, a demand with which he was aware they would not comply, and, by their refusal, secured the pretext which he desired for commencing hostilities, he addressed himself simul- 60 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in taneously to Louis, Maximilian, and Ferdinand, pointing out the several advantages to be secured by each when they should have conquered the haughty republic against which they were leagued. His proposition was eagerly accepted ; ambition and cupidity alike tended to render it palatable ; pleni- potentiaries were appointed, and on the pretext of arranging the settlement of the Low Countries they met at Cambray in October 1508, and in the course of December the stipulations of the treaty were concluded. Meanwhile the Venetians, who had been made acquainted that a league was forming against them, despatched an ambassador to Louis to expostulate with him upon this breach of faith ; while they endeavoured to propitiate both Maximilian and Ferdinand, and solicited help on all sides, but in- effectually ; and they at length boldly resolved to brave the danger unaided, perilous as it appeared. One of the conditions of this treaty stipulated that the French king should enter the Venetian ter- ritories forty days before any of the other sovereigns took the field ; an arrangement which, however sus- picious it appeared, did not deter Louis XII. from his project ; and immediately (at the close of Easter 1509) he placed himself once more at the head of his finest mounted troops, amounting -to a force of twenty thousand men, an equal number of Swiss, and a strong body of infantry, and descended into Italy. The first division of his army was commanded by 1 5o8-i 2 FRANCIS THE FIRST 61 Trivulzio and Chaumont ; the second by the king in person ; and the third, or rear-guard, by FranQois, Due de Longueville ; while a number of the most distinguished captains of France, either in that or any subsequent age, followed his banner. It was indeed a gathering of her best chivalry ; for they numbered among them Charles de Bourbon, the future Connetable ; Gaston de Foix, fated to die so early and so honourably ; Robert de la Mark, the Marquis de la Palice, the Scottish hero D'Aubigny, Bayard, and many other individuals of note ; in- cluding the Seigneurs de Molart, Richemont, Va"n- denesse, and La Crote, the Comte de Roussillon, the Captain Odet, and the Cadet de Duras, who were each accompanied by their separate band of followers. The royal army passed the Adda without mo- lestation, but were compelled to retreat before the Count di Pitigliano, who drove out the French garrisons of Trevi and Rivolta, and sacked both those cities, a fact which decided Louis imme- diately to force the Venetians to an engagement. The rashness of their general, D'Alviano, seconded his wishes, despite the opposition of Pitigliano, who refused to act in concert with him, and actually re- treated with a portion of his cavalry. The admir- able position of D'Alviano's troops enabled him to make a very successful attack, the nature of the ground not permitting the French horse to lend any efficient aid ; and, for a brief interval, the main body, or battle as it was then called, which was led 62 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in by Louis in person, was in considerable jeopardy; when a skilful movement of the rear-guard, com- manded by Bayard, robbed the enemy of their advantage, and enabled the cavalry to advance to their support. D'Alviano fought with desperation, and was severely wounded several times during the conflict ; but it was not until he saw fourteen 01^ fifteen thousand of his best troops lying dead upon the field that he suffered himself to be made pri- soner by the young Seigneur de Vandenesse, and conducted to the lodging of the king. This battle, so glorious to the French arms, took place in a village called Agnadello, on the i4th of May 1509. Success continued to attend the French army ; and although Louis remained a couple of days upon the field, he had, within a fortnight, possessed him- self of the districts of Ghiara d'Adda and Cara- vaggio. On the i/th of May Bergamo sent the keys of the city and laid them at his feet, while the citadel only held out three days longer. Cara- vaggio was taken by assault, its inhabitants hanged from the battlements ; and not only the garrison, but even the citizens of Peschiera, which had at- tempted to defend itself, were put to the sword without exception, although some among them offered a heavy ransom for their, lives. Louis XII., exasperated by their opposition, refused all mercy, declaring that he would, by striking terror into his enemies, preserve himself from all future attempts at rebellion a resolution which was re- ceived with much dissatisfaction by his nobility, 1 5o8-i2 FRANCIS THE FIRST 63 who were indignant to see gentle blood thus wan- tonly spilled by the desecrating hand of the execu- tioner. Brescia, Crema, and the fortress of Pizzi- ghettona were his next conquests ; and, finally, the citadel of Cremona, having held out for fifteen days after the city had surrendered, capitulated in its turn. Thus, before the termination of the month, Louis XII. once more found himself in possession of all that portion of the Venetian territory which had been apportioned to him by the treaty of Cam- bray, and which augmented the royal revenues of the duchy of Milan by the enormous sum of two hundred thousand ducats. The haughty republic, reduced to utter despair, used every effort to propitiate the powers which were leagued against her ; and Louis, although his own task was ended, remained two months longer in Italy, in order to watch the progress of events. The Pope at once rejected the overtures of the humbled senate, and only replied to their petition by sending an army into Romagna, under the com- mand of his nephew, Francesco-Maria de la Rovera, 1 Duke d'Urbino, who in the course of a few days made himself master of Faenza, Rimini, Ravenna, and Cervia ; while Maximilian, who had hitherto 1 Francesco-Maria de la Rovera was one of the greatest captains of the age, and was the representative of an illustrious Italian family, which owed its original celebrity to the fact that it gave two popes to Rome, viz., Sixtus IV. and Julius II., the latter of whom obtained for his brother the hand of the daughter of the Duke of Urbino, and caused his nephew, the subject of the present note, to be adopted by the last Duke of Urbino, of the family of Montefeltro. He married Eleonora Hippolyta de Gonzago, and died by poison in 1538, aged forty-eight years. 64 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in been delayed by want of funds from aggressive measures, prepared to attack Trevisa; which had, however, through his enforced tardiness, secured time for resistance. The King of Spain obtained by cession both Brindici and Otranto in his own kingdom of Naples ; and the keys of Verona, Vicenza, and Padua, which had been delivered to Louis, were by him transferred to the emperor. The Duke of Ferrara, who had joined the invading armies on the 3Oth of May, possessed himself with- out resistance of Polesina de Rovigo, Este, Mon- tagnana, and Monselica, the ancient patrimony of his family ; and the Marquis of Mantua occupied Asola and Lunato, which had been adjudged to him. Finally, Ferdinand had at last undertaken the siege of Trani, and the Venetians had ordered their generals to deliver up to the Spaniards all the territory which they still held in the kingdom of Naples. Venice, thus dismembered, was considered to be totally subjugated. The weakness and vacillation of Maximilian, however, tended once more to give them hope. He had no army ; all his monetary resources, great as they had recently been, were utterly exhausted ; while, too suspicious to entrust his ministers with the conduct of public affairs, and professing to be sufficient to himself, no one could fathom his ultimate designs, and thus all his measures were futile and perplexed, and he spent his time in hurrying from one frontier to the other, harassing his attendants and accomplishing nothing. 1508-12 FRANCIS THE FIRST 65 On receiving the keys of Padua he had sent only eight hundred lansquenets to form its garrison, a force totally inadequate to such a duty, the city being six miles in circumference ; and the Venetians were no sooner apprised of this fact than they determined to retake it, which they did by strata- gem and with great bloodshed, the lansquenets destroying about fifteen hundred of the citizens and soldiery before they were themselves killed to a man. The Count di Pitigliano was immediately ap- prised of this event, and, with the survivors of Agnadello, hastened to throw himself into the city, exerting all his energies to repair and fortify it, and resolving to defend it to the last a resolution which enraged the tardy Maximilian, who vowed to go thither in person and avenge himself; but when he arrived before the gates he found himself without men, money, or courage to undertake such a task single-handed ; and accordingly he applied to Louis for assistance, who, being on the point of recrossing the Alps on his return to France, did not allow the temporary prosperity of the Venetians to delay his journey, but contented himself with leaving on the frontier of Verona five hundred French lances, under the command of the Marquis de la Palice, with orders to march to the succour of the emperor should he require their aid ; a concession to which he was influenced by the hope that Maximilian, crippled for want of money, might be induced to sell to him Verona and its dependent territory to the VOL. i 5 66 banks of the Adige, which he was desirous to secure as a safe frontier to the duchy of Milan. Chancing to encounter Bayard as he was quitting the castle to obey these orders, M. de la Palice invited him to join the expedition, to which he joy- fully consented. The departure of Louis had, how- ever, inspired the Venetians with new confidence ; they materially strengthened the garrison of Padua, retook Vicenza, and were marching upon Verona when the French general compelled them to retreat and once more to evacuate Vicenza ; but the courage and success of the French captains were neutralized by the imbecile conduct of Maximilian, who, full of great projects, suffered present opportunity to escape him. Moreover, the Swiss mercenaries, who formed a very considerable portion of his force, deserted in great numbers ; and he at length abandoned all further effort, and, with a pusillanimity which dis- gusted his whole army, decamped suddenly in the night with a few of his personal attendants, leaving his generals to raise the siege and retreat as they best could. On the return of Louis XII. to France the queen advanced as far as Grenoble to welcome him, ac- companied by the Due de Valois, and his sister Marguerite, an attention to which she was the rather urged by the peculiarity of her position, which enabled her to render it the more marked and wel- come to Louis, for Anne de Bretagne was once more full of hope. She was about again to become a mother, and she was anxious to rejoin her royal 1508-12 FRANCIS THE FIRST 67 husband before her hour of trial and, as she trusted, of triumph also, should arrive. The result, however, offered only a new disappointment in the birth of a second princess, Madame R6nee de France. The king did not, as had been anticipated, take up his residence in the capital, but proceeded at once to Blois, and, merely visiting Paris at long intervals, held his Court at the former place, or at Tours, Bourges, and Lyons, occasionally making a brief sojourn in Normandy or Brittany. Nor had he long returned to his own kingdom before he began to experience great inconvenience and uneasiness from the effects of the treaty of Cambray. The Pope, whom he had in some degree constrained to second his views, had never forgiven what he con- sidered as the undue and excessive exercise of his power ; while he was compelled to perceive that he had destroyed the equilibrium of Italy by subjecting the Neapolitans to the supremacy of Spain and putting the Germans in possession of Venice. The Swiss had, moreover, demanded from Louis an in- crease of pay, to which he was unwilling to accede a circumstance which encouraged Julius to make an effort to detach them from his service ; and in this attempt he readily succeeded through the medium of a crafty churchman named Matthew Scheiner, the nephew of the Bishop of Sion, whom he created cardinal under the same title, and whose impassioned eloquence and martial spirit soon enabled him to induce a belief among them that a war with Louis XII. would be as acceptable in the eyes of heaven 63 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in as a crusade against the infidels. It was not long, therefore, ere they consented to make a descent upon Italy as the servants of the Church, and thus the French king saw himself not only deprived of their assistance but even called upon to include them among his enemies. Ferdinand, true to his treacherous and truckling character, having made his profit of the treaty of Cambray, renounced it without a single scruple, and entered into a league with the Pope, urging upon his son-in-law the King of England the expediency of fol- lowing his example, and accepting from the warlike pontiff a full investiture of the kingdom of Naples. Thoroughly awakened to a sense of the evil which threatened him on all sides, Louis would gladly have taken the field and defied the Pope and his allies with the single aid of Maximilian ; but the instability of that prince rendered such a measure hazardous, and he consequently resolved, as a more judicious medium, to call a council of his own pre- lates at Tours, and to demand of them if Julius II. had the right to levy a war of which neither religion nor the interests of the Church were the ostensible objects, or if opposition to a conflict purely secular in its interests might not be righteous. The reply of the council was favourable to his wishes ; the king was authorized by its unanimous voice to act on the offensive as well as the defensive, and was, moreover, assured that any papal excommunication which the war might induce would be null and void ; while, in addition to this solemn decision, they 1 5o8-i 2 FRANCIS THE FIRST 69 raised a large subsidy on the Church possessions in furtherance of his views. Meanwhile the Pope, who appeared to disregard both his age and his infirmities where his ambition was enlisted, and who was extremely anxious to re- possess himself of the duchy of Ferrara, assembled a considerable army, and, in the midst of one of the most severe winters which had ever been experi- enced in Italy, proceeded in person to Mirandola, where he forgot for a time the churchman in the soldier, encouraged and superintended the labourers in the trenches, and, to the dismay of the cardinals by whom he was accompanied, not only directed the planting of the artillery but even commanded the assaults, and exposed himself with the greatest recklessness until a breach was effected, which, owing to the moat being deeply frozen, rendered all further defence on the part of the besieged impos- sible. On arriving at Santo Felice, a large village near Mirandola, Julius had despatched a herald to the Countess Francesca, the natural daughter of Gian Giacopo Trivulgio, and widow of Ludovico Pico, to summon her to deliver up the city into his hands, but she resolutely refused to betray her trust, nor was it until the breach was effected that she surrendered. From Mirandola the Pope turned his arms against Ferrara, and again attacked Bologna, but, failing in his attempt, returned to Ravenna. The death of the Cardinal d'Amboise, which oc- curred at Lyons on the 25th of May 1510, where 70 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in Louis XII. was then holding his Court in order to keep a strict eye upon the events transpiring in Italy, was a heavy blow to the French monarch, who resolved thenceforward to govern in his own person a determination which proved fatal to his administration ; and meanwhile the Pope perfected a league which he dignified with the title of " Holy," and in which he prevailed upon Ferdinand to join and on Henry VIII. to accede, while the Swiss were engaged to attack the Milanese. Louis XII. met this emergency with a kingly spirit ; his army in Italy was augmented, and he made every preparation for resisting the combina- tion which had been formed against him. Gaston de Foix, Due de Nemours, his nephew, was ap- pointed general of his forces, although yet a mere youth who had not attained his twenty-third year, and the result justified the confidence which had been placed in him. He saved Bologna, which the papal troops were about to besiege ; and had not his little army been exhausted by forced marches in the most inclement weather, would have had an opportunity of utterly defeating the combined forces of the league. He had, however, scarcely taken possession of Bologna when he learnt that the city of Brescia had been treacherously delivered over to the Venetians, and that the garrison was incapable of long resistance ; upon which, with incredible exertion and fatigue, he hastened to the rescue of that place ; fought two battles, achieved two vie- 1508-12 FRANCIS THE FIRST 71 tories, and on arriving before the gates summoned the city to surrender, being anxious if possible to avoid further slaughter. The summons was, how- ever, disregarded, although the citizens were desirous that it should be complied with ; the attack com- menced, and the carnage which ensued was fearful. The Venetians fought desperately, but in vain. The city was taken, the garrison and population put to the sword, and the town delivered up to all the horrors of pillage and violence. Bayard fell wounded by a pike through the thigh, which broke in the wound, and was borne to the rear by two archers ; the citizens, women, and children harassed the invading troops by hurling bricks and stones, and even pouring boiling water from the windows of the houses ; but ultimately between seven and eight thousand of the Venetians fell in action, or were butchered as they attempted to escape ; while the loss of the French did not exceed fifty men. Unhappily, these no sooner saw them- selves masters of the city than the most brutal excesses supervened. Monasteries and convents were invaded, private families were ruined and disgraced, and the gross booty secured by the conquerors was estimated at three millions of crowns a circumstance which ultimately proved the destruction of the French cause in Italy, numbers of the individuals thus suddenly enriched forsaking their posts and returning to their homes ; enfeebling the army of De Foix, and conducing to the fatal termination of the battle of Ravenna. 72 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in Apprehensive, despite the brilliant commence- ment of this campaign, that the coalition formed against him might prove too powerful to admit of his ultimate success, Louis XII. forwarded instruc- tions to the young prince to compel the enemy to a speedy engagement before the impression produced by his recent good fortune had time to become weakened ; and, in obedience to this command, the duke advanced upon Ravenna by Finale and Modena ; but his eagerness to engage the army of the league was not greater than the determina- tion of Raymond de Cardona, the Viceroy of Naples, 1 to evade the encounter. Near Bologna he was joined by the Duke of Ferrara, whom he appointed, in conjunction with La Palice, to the command of the vanguard ; and this arrangement made, he advanced to Castel St. Piero, where he was met by the combined armies of the Pope and the King of Spain. The Cardinal de' Medici (after- wards Leo X.) was the supreme head of the adverse forces, of which the military command was entrusted to Cardona, Fabrizio Colonna, 2 and the Marquis de Pescara. " They formed one of the finest armies for its size," says the Loyal Servant, " that hath ever been 1 Raymond de Cardona was a man of great personal beauty and insinuating address, but devoid of both courage and experience. The Pope generally spoke of him as Madame Cardona. 2 Fabrizio Colonna was a celebrated general. He was the son of Edvardo Colonna, Duke of Amalfi, and served in the armies of the king of Naples, by whom he was appointed Constable. He com- manded the vanguard at the battle of Ravenna, where he was taken prisoner. He died in 1520. I508-I2 FRANCIS THE FIRST 73 seen, and one of the best appointed. Don Ray- munda de Cardona, Viceroy of Naples, was at the head of it, and had with him twelve or fourteen hundred gendarmes, whereof eight hundred rode barbed horses. They were all gold and azure, and mounted on the best chargers and Spanish horses that were ever beheld. Moreover, for the space of two years, they had enjoyed the free range of Romagna, a good and fertile land, where they had provisions to their hearts' desire. There were only twelve thousand foot two thousand foot under the charge of a Captain Ramassot, and ten thousand Spaniards, Biscayens, and Navarrese, conducted by the Count Pietro da Navarro, 1 who was captain- general of the whole body of infantry. He had formerly led his men into Barbary against the Moors, and with them had gained two or three battles. In short, they were all men experienced in war, and skilled to a marvel in the exercise of arms." This brilliant army waited under the walls of 1 Pietro da Navarro was born in Biscay, and was originally a sailor; he afterwards served as -ualet-de-pied to the Cardinal* of Aragon, and finally enlisted in the Florentine army, where he be- came conspicuous for his bravery. Gonsalvo de Cordova employed him in the Neapolitan war, with the rank of captain ; and the emperor recompensed him for his services, at the taking of the capital, with the title of Count of Alveto, and the proceeds of that property. He failed in a naval expedition against the Moors in Africa, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Ravenna. Two years subsequently he entered into the service ot Francis I., and distinguished himself upon several occasions until 1522, at which period he was made captive by the imperial troops. Retaken a second time by the same enemies in 1528, he died at the Chateau d'CEuf, in which he was confined. 74 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in Faenza until the French general should take the initiative, which he speedily did ; and, after having despatched Bayard to reconnoitre the enemy's posi- tion, he at once prepared to give them battle. Cardona, acting upon the advice of Pietro da Navarro, had resolved to keep within the entrench- ments, but the guns of the French soon compelled him to abandon this attempt, and they were no sooner forced than the engagement became general. For eight weary hours the work of carnage went on ; but the Viceroy of Naples, soon losing faith in the success of his troops, took flight early in the day with a number of his cavalry, and never drew bit until he had reached Ancona, a distance of nearly thirty leagues. The Due de Nemours was no sooner apprized of this fact than he sent the Sire Louis d'Ars and Bayard in pursuit of the fugitives, many of whom were overtaken and cut to pieces. The infantry, meanwhile, remained firm ; but after having re- ceived the murderous fire of the artillery of the Duke of Ferrara, as well as that of the French themselves, they became shaken ; although not until the French foot, which had been exposed through- out the whole action, while their enemies were partially covered by the ditch, had lost thirty-eight out of the forty captains who accompanied them to the field. When he saw them waver, the impetuosity of Fabrizio Colonna could no longer be controlled ; he beheld not only his own safety but also that of the 1 5o8-i 2 FRANCIS THE FIRST 75 brave men who followed him perilled by the cowardice of the recreant Cardona, whom he stig- matized as the "Miscreant Moor;" and, disregard- ing the orders of Navarro, he passed out of the camp with a small body of cavalry and entered the open plain, boldly charging the centre of the French forces. It was, however, too late ; his troops were already enfeebled, and the enemy were masters of the field. After a desperate but hopeless conflict, during which the archers of the guard, being unable in the mQlte to make use of their legitimate weapons, availed themselves of the small axes which they carried in their belts, and with which they made fearful havoc, the fortune of the day was soon decided. Colonna himself was made prisoner by Alphonso d'Este, 1 who subsequently granted him both liberty and life ; and among the other captives of note were the Cardinal de' Medici, Count Pietro da Navarro, the Marquises de la Paluda and Pescara, with many others of less mark ; while their slain amounted to nearly sixteen thousand men, among whom were many of their bravest leaders. 1 Alphonso d'Este succeeded his father in 1505. His first wife was Anne, sister of Galeas Sforza, Duke of Milan ; and his second the celebrated Lucretia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI. He was a member of the League of Cambray, when Julius II. appointed him standard-bearer of the Roman Church. He retook the Polesina de Rovigo from the Venetians, and never would adopt their interests. Excommunicated and declared dispossessed of the principality of Ferrara, he only escaped the vengeance of Julius II. by a timely flight. He died in 1534, after having reconquered Bondeno, Finale, San-Felice, Garfagnano, Lugo, Bagnacavallo, Reggio, Rubiera, and Modena. He was immortalized by Ariosto. 76 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, in Nevertheless the victory of Ravenna was a melancholy triumph for the French arms, and bought by some of the best blood of the nation. Two companies of the enemy who had been suc- cessfully engaged with some Gascon and Picardy troops, and who were anxious to make their way to Ravenna, were encountered by the Bastard du Tay, and compelled to retreat along the canal. During this movement some of the number fled, one of whom, chancing to pass near the Due de Nemours, and anxious to escape from this new danger, answered his inquiry by declaring that the Spaniards had beaten them ; an announcement which maddened the young prince, who had long ere this considered the victory no longer doubtful, and who, rendered desperate by his fears, sprang upon the causeway by which the two bands were retreating, accompanied only by fourteen or fifteen gendarmes. Unfortunately the fugitives had reloaded their fire- locks, which they instantly discharged, and then rushed upon the little party with their pikes. The position of the duke and his followers did not admit of their defending themselves with any effect, the causeway being narrow, and bordered on one hand by the canal and on the other by an impassable ditch ; but they, nevertheless, struggled bravely to the last, nor did they yield until every man was either killed or disabled. The duke's horse was hamstrung, upon which he flung himself to the ground, and continued the fight on foot ; Adet de Foix, Sire de Lautrec, who was beside him, de- 1508-12 FRANCIS THE FIRST 77 fended him with his own body until he fell covered with wounds, and he then exerted all his remaining strength in calling out to the Spaniards to spare the life of the prince, who was the brother of their queen. The appeal, however, was made in vain, and the unhappy young hero fell covered with wounds. " From the chin to the forehead," says the Loyal Servant with affectionate simplicity, " he had fourteen or fifteen clear proof that the gentle prince had never turned his back." Thus, in his twenty-third year, fell the brave Gaston de Foix, by the hands of a small band of fugitives, in whom his very name inspired terror. Within three months he had gained four battles ; the future was bright before him ; he was the idol of the army which he led ; and secret treaties had already been set on foot to secure to him the king- dom of Naples. But now all was over, and the maimed and disfigured corpse was borne through the camp amid the tears and lamentations of those who had so lately thrilled at his battle-cry. The brave young Sire de Viverots, the only son of the Seigneur Yves d'Allegre, who was in the train of the prince, fell mortally wounded into the canal, where he perished miserably ; and his father also perished during a charge of infantry. Lautrec, although grievously wounded, ultimately recovered ; but the slaughter in the French army was estimated at six thousand men, among whom were many great and noble names. Well might Louis XII., when congratulated upon the conquest of Ravenna, 78 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, in exclaim, in the regret and sadness of his spirit : " Wish my enemies such victories ! " On the day after the battle the French adven- turers and lansquenets pillaged the ill-fated city, despite the opposition of the Sire de la Palice, who had been unanimously elected general-in-chief of the army after the death of Gaston de Foix. Ravenna had capitulated, and he had consequently been anxious to spare to its inhabitants the horrors of a sack. His anxiety was, however, unavailing ; the volunteers and mercenaries of his army entered the gates by stratagem, and the unhappy and conquered citizens were outraged and despoiled. At this juncture intelligence reached the French army from the Seigneur Trivulzio that the Venetians and Swiss were contemplating a descent upon the duchy of Milan, and that suspicions were entertained of the good faith of the emperor ; upon which it was decided that they should immediately return to the Milanese, carrying with them the body of Gaston, which was interred within the Dome with regal pomp, upwards of ten thousand mourners following it to the grave, the greater number mounted and in deep sables ; while forty standards, which had been captured from the enemy, were borne before him trailing in the dust, and his own banners held aloft immediately in the rear, as emblematic of their triumph over these prostrate trophies. The battle of Ravenna cost Louis XII. one of the brightest jewels of his crown. CHAPTER IV 1513 Effects of the battle of Ravenna Religious scruples of the queen The Pope raises a force in Switzerland The emperor withdraws his subjects from the French army Maximilian Sforza enters Milan The Genoese revolt Lord Dorset lands in Spain, is disgusted, and withdraws Intrigues of Ferdinand Louis XII. invests Francis with the command of the army of the Milanese The Spanish general declines his challenge The French raise their camp before Pampeluna, and repass the Alps Light-hearted- ness of Francis A prince and an advocate Licentiousness of Francis Ancient notions of piety France enters into a league with the Venetian states Treaty of marriage between the Archduke Charles and the Prin- cesse Renee Union of Venice with France Death of Julius II. Accession of Leo X. His enmity to France Louis XII. endeavours to propitiate him, but fails He concludes a truce with Ferdinand and the Venetians The Swiss take up arms against France Ferdinand and Henry VIII. join the cause of the Pope Louis again invades the Milan- ese Takes the principal cities Battle of Vivegano The French are driven from the Milanese Louis mortgages a portion of the crown land Henry VIII. invades France, and besieges Terouenne Louis proceeds to Calais Bayard captures an English gun Famine in the city Maxi- milian joins the English king The battle of the Spurs Bayard wins his ransom Honours rendered to Bayard by Maximilian and Henry VIII. Louis withdraws his army into Picardy. THE consternation created in France by the dearly- bought victory of Ravenna was not less deep in Rome. The holy conclave saw, in the success of the French arms, the ultimate subjugation of Italy, and were alarmed accordingly. Bitter as the con- cession could not fail to be, they urged the Pope to offer terms to Louis, which might avert the evil ; and Julius appeared inclined to satisfy their wishes, but at that precise juncture the arrival of Giulio de' 8o THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv Medici at Rome once more determined him to pursue his own designs. He came on a mission from his cousin, the captive cardinal, whom he had visited in his prison, after having himself fled from the field with Cardona ; and now hastened to see the Pope, in the name of his relative, and to represent to him the crippled condition of the French army bereft of its general. He found instant attention. Julius had already secured the support of the vacillating Maxi- milian ; he was aware that Louis, continually ha- rassed by the pious scruples of the queen who, never having regained her health after the birth of the Princesse Renee, either felt, or affected to feel, that her sufferings were a consequence of the unholy and sacrilegious warfare in which he was engaged would gladly terminate the struggle ; and, accord- ingly, he refused all overtures towards a reconcilia- tion, and instructed the Cardinal of Sion to raise as many Swiss troops as might offer themselves, in order to effect a descent into the Milanese, under the specious pretext of restoring the duchy to the young Maximilian Sforza, the son of Ludovic the Moor. 1 1 Ludovic-Maria Sforza, surnamed the Moor, in consequence of his dark complexion, put to death Simonetta, the tutor of his nephew, Guan-Galeazo, and exiled the regent, Bona de Savoie, in order to govern in the name of his young relative. Irritated by the threats of the King of Naples, the father-in-law of the duke, he invited Charles VIII. to enter Italy, hoping to retain the Milanese by a promise to support him in his attempt at the conquest of Naples. Guan-Galeazo having died by poison in 1494, Ludovic caused himself to be recog- nized as Duke of Milan, to the prejudice of the son of that prince ; but, ere long, alarmed by the successes of the French, he leagued himself with the other Italian states against them, and compelled them to repass the Alps. A second invasion of the French under Louis 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 81 The Swiss answered readily to the call of the Pope, and engaged themselves to the number of twenty thousand in his service ; while Maximilian, although still considered as the ally of France and the enemy of the Venetians, did not hesitate to accord to the latter, on the receipt of an equivalent in money, a truce of ten months ; with permission for the Swiss to march through his territories, in order to join them in their attack upon the army of Louis. La Palice, who had succeeded to the command on the death of the Due de Nemours, made every preparation for resistance ; but his exertions were rendered nugatory by the fact that, on the day which succeeded his occupation of the fortress of Pontevico as a central position, whence he could communicate with the other divisions of his army, a letter arrived from the emperor, commanding all his subjects to withdraw from the French service ; and as a con- siderable portion of his troops were German lans- quenets, M. de la Palice at once saw himself rendered powerless, and was enabled with difficulty to retreat to A st. The young Archduke Maximilian entered Milan without opposition; the Genoese revolted, and elected as their doge one of the Fregosi, a declared enemy to France ; and the vaunt of Julius, that he would expel the barbarians from Italy, was at length accomplished. Nor was the loss of the Milanese the only subject XII. dispossessed him of his duchy. He was taken prisoner before Novara, and conveyed to France, where he lived ten years a captive in the castle of Loches. He died in 1510. VOL. I 6 82 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv of disquietude to which Louis was at this period exposed. Ferdinand of Spain, who was anxious to possess himself of Navarre, had entered into a negotiation with Henry VIII., in which he professed a desire to regain Guienne, to which England still affected a claim, and solicited a passage through the kingdom of Navarre, which was refused, upon the plea that the king had resolved to observe a strict neutrality. The Marquis of Dorset, who had already landed in Spain with a force of fifty thousand men and marched towards the French frontier, was no sooner apprized of this circumstance than he applied to the Spanish king for further instructions ; when Ferdinand, who had only sought for help from /England in order to effect the conquest of Navarre, / of which Jean d'Albret was the sovereign in right of his wife, the spirited but unfortunate Catherine de I Foix, endeavoured to impress upon the English ' general the necessity of conquering that country before the attempt upon Guienne could be accom- plished ; a proof of perfidy which so disgusted the marquis that he at once abandoned his cause and withdrew with his troops, who had already suffered severely from the effects of the climate. Nevertheless Ferdinand pursued his purpose, and demanded from the Navarrese sovereigns that they should place in his hands either the Prince de Viane, their son, or all the fortified places throughout their dominions, as a guarantee that they would offer no assistance to France against the Holy League ; but Jean d'Albret, aware that he could place no reliance 1 5 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 83 upon the word of the Spanish king, after having in vain protested his intention of remaining neuter, and perceiving that the Duke of Alva was advancing into his territories at the head of the Aragonnese army, caused his queen to retire to Beam, and threw himself into Pampeluna, where he awaited in vain for a time the arrival of succour from France. Nor did he even find support from his own subjects, who, far from taking up arms in defence of their country, talked only of submission ; and he at length found himself compelled to retreat beyond the Pyrenees, when Pampeluna opened its gates to the Duke of Alva, an example which was followed by all the cities of Spanish Navarre within the space of a few days. Louis XII., disheartened as he was by a series of reverses which had overthrown all the previous glory of the French arms; driven from Italy; shorn of his allies, all of whom had suffered like himself; and menaced upon his frontiers by the emperor, the Swiss, the Low Countries, England, and Spain could not, however, see the King of Navarre, whose allegiance to himself had been the alleged pretext for his overthrow, thus made the spoil of his treacherous enemy ; and he accordingly marched an army to his assistance, under the joint command of the Dues de Bourbon and de Longueville j 1 but as these two powerful nobles could not agree upon points of precedence, and their misunderstanding 1 The Due de Longueville was a descendant of the famous illegi- timate branch of the house of Orleans, originating in the brave Jehan, Comte de Dunois, the natural son of Louis, Due d'Orleans, brother of Charles VI. 84 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv was likely to injure the interests of the expedition, Louis decided upon investing the young Due de Valois with the supreme command. Inflamed by the glorious example of the youthful Gaston de Foix, his predecessor, Francis eagerly assumed the post thus tendered to him, and had no sooner reached the camp than he marched the French forces to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, of which Colonel Villalva had possessed himself, and where the Duke of Alva had shortly afterwards taken up his position with the whole of his army. The troops which had lately evacuated Italy joined the forces of the Due de Valois ; and La Palice, their most experienced general, became his counsellor. On arriving near the position of the enemy, Francis endeavoured to force them to an engage- ment ; and for this purpose sent a message of defiance to the Spanish general, which was, how- ever, declined ; whereupon La Palice seized the pass of the valley of Roncal, one of the mediums of communication between Navarre and Beam ; and in the course of the month of October con- ducted one of the three (divisions of the French army by this defile within two leagues of Pampe- luna, under the nominal command of the King of Navarre ; while the Due de Bourbon overran Guipuscoa, taking and demolishing several fortified places ; and the remaining division held the Duke of Alva in check at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Nevertheless the Spanish general succeeded in occupying Roncevaux a few hours before La Palice, 15 1 3 FRANCIS THE FIRST 85 and thence marched into Pampeluna, where he was besieged by the French troops. It was, how- ever, too late to retrieve the fatal mistake which had been made in suffering him to reach the city. The weather had become severe, snow had fallen to a great depth, provisions were scarce and un- certain, and the roads almost impassable for artillery. Moreover the Aragonnese were advancing on all sides to support the besieged city, and after a few inconsequent skirmishes the French were compelled to strike their camp and to demolish the battery which they had raised, in order to repass the Pyrenees ; an effort which they only accomplished at the expense of their heavy baggage and thirteen cannon taken by the Spaniards during their retreat. Unpropitious as the campaign had proved, it had at least enabled the young prince to display alike the talent and the courage which gave earnest of his future prowess ; and he was received on his return with all the honour due to a more successful general. The gloom which overhung the nation could not quell the animal spirits consequent upon his youth and temperament ; and while his royal uncle was absorbed in anxiety and irresolution as to the new alliance which it had become imperative upon him to form either with the emperor or the Venetians, in order to make head against the enemies by whom he was threatened, Francis entered with enthusiasm into all the amusements of the capital ; and at the head of a reckless band 86 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv of young nobles indulged himself in every species of dissipation. The extreme youth of his affianced wife offering no check to his libertine propensities, they soon became uncontrollable ; and it was at this period that he formed a liaison which affords upon several points so perfect an insight into his character that it cannot be passed over in silence. A certain advocate in Paris, whose professional acumen and skill had secured to him an immense reputation, had married, in the decline of life, a beautiful young girl of eighteen or nineteen years of age, whose parents, dazzled by the wealth and station of the suitor, had induced her to bestow her hand upon him. Unfortunately for both parties, she acted only up to the strict letter of her bond ; and, although surrounded by luxury and indulgence, rather tolerated than loved the husband who had thus been forced upon her. Nevertheless, although fond of pleasure and admiration, her conduct had been sufficiently circumspect to satisfy the worthy advocate, who, conscious that he was no longer of an age to command the devotion of a young and pretty woman, suffered her to participate in all the amusements which were offered to her accept- ance without objection or mistrust. It chanced, how- ever, that at a marriage festival she was remarked by the young Due de Valois, who, although only in his sixteenth year, had already begun to yield to that passionate admiration of female beauty which throughout life formed one of the distin- IS 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 87 guishing features of his character, and who, despite the indulgent testimony of Madame d'Alen^on and Brantome, his uncompromising panegyrists, sacri- ficed to this licentious propensity not only his sense of personal dignity but even his respect for religion, the semblance of which he did not scruple to assume in order to veil his irregularities. Upon the occasion just named, the prince made the acquaintance of the fair citizen ; nor did he hesitate before the close of the evening to declare to her the passion with which she had inspired him. The young beauty listened without displeasure, for she was aware of the rank of her new admirer, and her vanity was flattered by such a conquest ; nor was it long ere she yielded to his passionate protestations so far as to consent to receive him under the roof of her husband when that husband should be from home. Accordingly a rendezvous was appointed, and the prince, disguised in order that the honour of the lady might not be unnecessarily compromised, directed his steps towards her residence, accom- panied by certain of his gentlemen, whom he quitted at the entrance of the street ; directing them, should they hear no noise within a quarter of an hour, to retire where they pleased, but to return (during the course of the night in order to conduct him back to the palace ; after which he proceeded to the house of the advocate, where he found the door unfastened, as had been previously arranged, and hastened to ascend the staircase to the apartment of the lady. It appeared, however, that the hus- 88 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv band, from some cause or other, had returned home unexpectedly, and the young prince had not reached the first floor ere he encountered him, taper in hand, and was aware that retreat had already be- come impossible. In this emergency the precocious presence of mind of Francis did not desert him for an instant, but courteously greeting the man of law with a smile upon his lips, he said in his blandest tone : " M. 1'Avocat, you know the confidence which I and all the princes of my house have ever placed in your probity, and that I have ever considered you to be one of my best and most faithful servants ; I have, in consequence, come privately to visit you, in order to request that you will be careful of my interests ; and also to beg that you will give me a draught of wine, of which I stand greatly in need. Be careful, however, not to suffer any one to know that you have seen me, as I am going hence to a place where I do not wish to be recognized." The worthy advocate, delighted that the prince should confer upon him so great a mark of con- descension and esteem, was profuse in his profes- sions and acknowledgments ; and, leading the way, conducted his unexpected guest to his best apart- ment, where he desired his wife to set forth the best collation of fruits and sweetmeats she could collect an order which was promptly and efficiently obeyed ; and while she was thus engaged the young duke continued to converse with his host upon his private and pecuniary business, without once 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 89 turning his eyes upon her after the first courtesies had been exchanged. At length, however, the lady dropped upon her knee as she presented to him the refreshment he had required ; and while her husband was pouring out a goblet of wine at the sideboard whispered to him not to leave the house, but to conceal himself in a wardrobe on the right hand of the gallery, where she would soon join him. When he had swallowed the wine, the young prince made his acknowledgments to the advocate, took an indifferent leave of the lady, and rose to depart ; but as the unsuspicious lawyer pre- pared to escort him, taper in hand, on his return, he stopped him with a gesture of his hand, declaring that he required no attendance, and would rather gain the street alone in darkness. Then, turning to the lady, he said courteously : " Moreover, Madame, I will not deprive you of the companion- ship of your good husband, who is one of my oldest servants, and whom you are very happy to possess ; a happiness for which you should praise God, and both cherish and obey him, for should you do otherwise you would be very blamable." Having said these words, he withdrew, carefully closing the door behind him, in order not to be detected in his purpose ; and, once enclosed in his place of retreat, awaited the promised summons of his frail conquest, who did not fail to fulfil her engagement. Had the adventure ended here and thus, we would not have sullied our pages with its record ; but such was far from being the case ; the beauty 90 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv and devotion of the handsome citizen had enthralled the heart of Francis ; and as their liaison lasted for a considerable period he became anxious to abridge the distance between them, and for this purpose passed habitually through the cloisters of a mon- astery, with whose prior he ultimately rendered himself so great a favourite that the porter was instructed to leave the gates open for him until midnight, and to give him egress at any hour when he might be required to do so. As the house of the advocate was situated in the immediate neigh- bourhood of this monastery, he always entered the holy pile unattended ; and although he traversed it rapidly on his way to his appointment, he never failed on his return fresh from the pollution of his orgy, and yet flushed with the fever of his sin to remain for a considerable period in prayer in the silent chapel, to the marvel and edification of the community, who, on entering the sacred fane for matin service, constantly found him on his knees before the altar ! Divided, as we have already stated, between Maximilian and the Venetians, Louis was unable to decide upon his course of action ; but, strongly urged by his council rather to trust to the good faith of the latter than to place any trust in the emperor, he at length consented ; and a league, defensive and offensive, was entered into by France with the state of Venice, at the urgent entreaty of Trivulzio. Nevertheless, Louis, in his secret heart, still inclined towards Maximilian. He was dazzled 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 91 by the imperial dignity, and influenced by Anne de Bretagne, who was ambitious to unite her second daughter, as she had previously been to marry her first, to Charles of Austria, in whom she saw a future emperor. A treaty to this effect was conse- quently commenced, in which it was stipulated that the Princesse Renee should convey to her husband, as her dowry, all the rights of France over the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the republic of Genoa. To these conditions the em- peror affected to consent, but he exacted, as a preliminary, that the young princess should be con- signed to his charge, and be educated at his Court a precaution in which he was undoubtedly autho- rized, when he remembered how his own marriage with Anne de Bretagne and those of his daughter Marguerite and his grandson Charles, had been un- ceremoniously set aside by France. The French monarch, however, refused to accede to such terms ; nor could Anne be induced, even when her ambition was aroused, to separate herself from her infant daughter. Meanwhile the treaty with the Venetians was accomplished, and those who had so lately met as enemies were collected under the same banners. La Tremouille was appointed to the command of the forces with which Louis still hoped to re- conquer the Milanese ; and D'Alviano, who had been retained a captive since the battle of Agna- dello, was restored to liberty and placed at the head of the Venetian army. 92 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv While the approaching war was thus still in abeyance, and it was as yet impossible to decide who would act as allies and who as enemies dur- ing the next campaign, Julius was indefatigable in undermining the interests of France ; while he menaced, each in their turn, the Duke of Ferrara, the republics of Venice, of Lucca, of Sienna, and of Genoa ; Ferdinand of Spain, the Medici at Flo- rence, and the Baglioni at Perousa in short, all the powers who were not sufficiently pliable in his hands, and who disputed his entire supremacy. But in the midst of an arrogance by which the general peace of Europe was threatened he was seized in the spring of 1513 with a fever, followed by dysen- tery, which soon assumed a serious aspect ; notwith- standing which the restless and ambitious old man, so soon to be called before a tribunal from which he, even as the sovereign pontiff, had no appeal, laboured to the last in the partial completion of the work which he had so zealously commenced ; and having assembled all the cardinals about him to confirm a bull which he had fulminated, and secured, so far as he was able to do so, the independence of the conclave which was to name his successor, he expired on the evening of the 2ist of February, exclaiming, in his last moments, " Out with the French from Italy ! Out with Alphonso d'Este ! " Although the death of Julius II. had undoubtedly delivered France from an implacable enemy, it still remained questionable how far she would profit by the rule of his successor. The Cardinal de Medici, 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 93 who assumed the triple crown under the title of Leo X., was a man of high birth and acknowledged acquirements ; but although on ascending the papal chair he had declared his anxiety to maintain the peace of Europe, it could not fail to be remarked that he had chosen for the ceremony of his corona- tion the anniversary of the very day upon which he had been made prisoner by the French at the battle of Ravenna, and that he even rode the same horse which carried him upon that occasion. Moreover, he had not been indebted for his liberty to any respect felt by his enemies for his sacred character, as he had been rescued from the hands of Trivulzio by some insurgent peasantry ; while the revolution, which had restored to his family their rule in Flo- rence, had been undertaken in hatred towards the French. Nevertheless Louis XII. was anxious to effect a reconciliation with the Holy See ; while the queen, still more eager than himself to make her peace with the Church, urged him continually to propose such terms to Leo as might tend to that result. Accordingly, the French king offered to submit the arrangement of a peace to the judg- ment and justice of the sovereign pontiff, on con- dition that no opposition should be made to his designs on Milan. However, the concession was met with evasive coldness, and Louis became at once aware that Leo X. was bent, like his prede- cessor, upon the expulsion of the French from Italy. He therefore hesitated no longer ; but, concluding a treaty of peace for twelve months with Ferdinand 94 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv of Spain, and ratifying that into which he had en- tered with the Venetian States, endeavoured once more to induce the Swiss to enter into his interests. Here, however, he was destined to disappointment ; they would scarcely listen to the proposals of his ambassador, and conceded no more than that they would continue favourable to Louis so long as he attempted nothing against either the Pope or the Duke of Milan, whom they had, as they affirmed, taken under their protection. And when they dis- covered that the French monarch, undismayed by their opposition, was resolved to enforce his claims, they at once took up arms to oppose his entrance into Italy. Leo, meanwhile, had not been idle. With little difficulty he induced the hollow-hearted Ferdinand once more to break his faith with the French king, and even to induce Henry VIII., his son-in-law, to invade France, and to secure the co-operation of Maximilian, by the payment of one hundred thousand crowns for the maintenance of his army. Yet Louis still persevered. Indignant at the bad faith of his false allies, exasperated by the cool impassibility of the Pope, and more than ever anxious to regain the supremacy of the Milanese, he marched a for- midable army into Italy, under the command of La Tremouille, who, fourteen years previously, had taken Milan and made prisoner Ludovico Sforza. Nor was his confidence misplaced, for that general crossed the Alps before the Swiss were cognizant of his design, relieved Milan, and took possession 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 95 of Ast and Alessandria. The star of Louis was once more in the ascendant. His fleet made them- selves masters of Genoa, the Venetians attacked and gained Cremona, and everything appeared to favour the French arms and to promise a speedy and glorious termination to the war. Ultimately La Tremouille arrived before Novara, and com- menced the attack, but soon discovered that he had been premature. A breach had been effected, but at the moment when he was about to avail himself of it he received intelligence that a strong re- inforcement was coming up ; when, convinced too late of the error which he had committed, and for- getting that it could now only be retrieved by pur- suing the advantage he had gained, he withdrew to Vivegano, a distance of about two miles, and thus enabled the enemy to enter Novara during the night, where a council was immediately called, by which it was decided to attack the French camp. This bold resolution was acted upon without delay, and the Swiss accordingly commenced their march before midnight. Well acquainted with the nature of the ground, and aware that the troops of La Tremouille were surrounded by marshy land, where their cavalry would be crippled and almost useless, they formed their own force, consisting entirely of foot soldiers, into two divisions, one of which was instructed to prevent the approach of the mounted troops, and the other to attack the French artillery. As daylight dawned they had taken up their posi- tion, and La Tremouille, unprepared as he was to 96 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv anticipate such a demonstration, at once made every arrangement to receive them. He soon perceived that the enemy, whose suc- cess had depended upon their celerity, had not brought a single gun into the field, and he accord- ingly advanced his artillery, consisting of two and twenty pieces, to the front of his line, under a guard of German lancers. His first fire committed great ravages among the Swiss ranks, but as the foremost men fell their vacancies were instantly filled up from the rear, and they dashed forward gallantly to the very mouths of the cannon, and engaged with the lansquenets by whom they were supported. For two hours the battle waged fiercely, but at the termination of that period the Germans, bravely as they had borne themselves, gave way, and the Swiss, having obtained posses- sion of the guns, turned them against their former owners, and committed terrible slaughter. Mean- while the cavalry had been compelled to total in- action, being hemmed in on one side by a dense wood and on the other by a bog deeply trenched, in which the horses buried themselves to their knees at every plunge. In one instance only did they succeed in taking any share in the fortunes of the day, but that one must not pass unrecorded. Robert de la Mark, 1 who commanded the lansque- 1 Messire Robert de la Mark was a soldier of distinction, sur- named the " Great Boar of the Ardennes," from the position of his estates, and his constant habit of laying waste all the territory of the emperor, and other princes in the vicinity. He was the original cause of the war between Maximilian and Louis XI I., who supported IS 1 3 FRANCIS THE FIRST 97 nets, and who was accompanied to the field by his two sons, the Seigneur de Fleuranges and the Seigneur de Jamets, having lost sight of them in the mfee, feeling convinced that they must be either slain or captive thus to fail him at such a moment, leaped the trenches at the head of a hun- dred of his own troop, and charged the Swiss so vigorously that he broke their ranks, reached the spot where his sons had been engaged, both of whom were lying on the ground disabled by their hurts, and carried them off in safety, having him- self received nearly fifty wounds. The capture of the cannon had, however, decided the issue of the battle ; and La Tremouille, himself severely wounded, was compelled to order a retreat, which was not effected without great sacrifice of life. The gendarmes suffered little, as their enemies had no mounted force with which to pursue them, but the infantry were slain on all sides. The Gascons, who were the first to fly, were allowed to escape almost unimpeded ; for the Swiss concentrated all their fury upon the lansquenets, the objects of their most bitter hatred, whom they considered as their rivals in the mercenary trade which they had so long exercised alone. Five thousand of these wretched men perished upon the field, and the remainder were compelled to surrender. A similar number of him in his forays. He had adopted as his device a figure of St. Margaret, with a dragon at her feet, representing the great principle of evil ; and was in the habit, when he made his orisons to this his patron saint, of burning two candles before her shrine, one of which was dedicated to herself and the other to the dragon, declaring that " if God would not aid him the devil would not fail to do so." VOL. I 7 98 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv French were killed, either in action or during the retreat, for many of the Gascons, whom the Swiss had spared, were murdered by the peasantry. The loss of the victors was nearly as great, and their leader, Mottino, was among the slain ; but their triumph was complete, and after remaining for an hour or two upon the scene of their success they returned to Novara, carrying with them the twenty- two pieces of ordnance, as well as all the draught- horses and baggage of the French army. Once more the troops of Louis XII. were driven out of Italy. All the places which they had taken opened their gates to the conquerors ; and public rejoicings were held in Rome, where the Pope con- gratulated the Swiss upon their victory ; while he flattered himself that the defeat at Novara would so undermine the energies and cripple the strength of the French king that he would be unable to con- tend against any new enemy. And, in truth, the prospects of Louis were anything but encourag- ing. Invaded upon every one of his frontiers, he saw himself compelled to recall the remnant of his army from the Riotta ; he could place no faith in Ferdinand, and he anticipated an attack from the English upon Normandy ; while, despite all his caution, the national treasury was exhausted. The campaign in Italy had been at once disastrous and expensive ; Paris had been heavily taxed, and he had no resource save in mortgaging a portion of his territory. Meanwhile Henry VIII. had raised, in the month of May, an army of twenty-five thousand 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 99 men, under the command of the Earl of Shrews- bury and Lord Talbot, which the French fleet had found it impossible to prevent landing ; and he himself embarked to join them at the end of June, proceeding immediately from Calais to the frontier town of Terouenne, before which he sat down with his troops. The city was well fortified, and gar- risoned by two hundred horse and two thousand foot, under Fra^ois de Teligny, Senechal de Rouergue, and Antoine de Crequi, Seigneur de Pondormy ; but it was ill-provisioned for a siege, and its position was consequently very precarious. Louis XII., during his period of suspense as to the point upon which he should be attacked, had resided alternately at Paris and at Blois ; but on learning that the English had landed in great strength at Calais, he caused himself, although suffer- ing painfully from gout, to be conveyed to Amiens in a litter, in order to be nearer to Louis de Hall- win, Seigneur de Piennes, who was his lieutenant- general in Picardy ; and hastened to issue a stringent order to his generals not to hazard an engagement with the enemy, which, should it prove disastrous in its result, might tend to involve the ruin of the kingdom. Meanwhile the French army concen- trated itself at Blangy near Hesdin, where it was successively joined by M. de la Palice, Imbercourt, 1 1 Adrian de Brimeu, Marquis d'Imbercourt, was a descendant of the celebrated house of Brimeu, from which the Counts of Megen in the Low Countries derive their origin. He was greatly distinguished for his valour, and served both Louis XII. and Francis I. with zeal and loyalty. ioo THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv Bayard, Aymar de Prie, Bonnivet, Bonneval, La Fayette, Fontrailles, 1 with his Albanian light-horse, and Fleuranges with his lansquenets ; while they still awaited the Duke of Suffolk, who had espoused the cause of Louis against Henry VIII., whom he regarded as the destroyer of his brother, a Lan- casterian and an usurper. The English king left Calais on the ist of August with nine thousand infantry to join his army at Terouenne, and was encountered by all the French horse, amounting to twelve hundred lances ; when, as he had no cavalry with him, the two armies had no sooner approached within cannon shot than he became apprehensive of treachery, and, dismount- ing, placed himself in the centre of the lansquenets. Bayard, whose gallant and impetuous spirit ill brooked the restraint which the orders of Louis had imposed upon the French troops, eagerly re- quested permission to attack the advancing column, declaring that, if the line were once forced, the English must be defeated ; or, at the worst, as they had no horsemen, they could not follow up any transient advantage ; and, in order to offer a proof 1 The Sire Imbaud de Fontrailles, the representative of an ancient Gascon family, was the Colonel-General of the Albanian light-horse a force at that period unknown in the French army, which was always supplied by foreigners ; the gendarmes being the only national cavalry. It was from these Albanian troops that the French learnt and adopted the duties of light-horsemen. At Fornoua these troops received from the Venetians the name of Estradiotz, or Corvals, while the Spaniards called them Genetaires. M. de Fontrailles was also captain of a company of fifty men-at-arms, and was frequently the associate of Bayard in the skirmishes for which he was so famous. 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 101 of what he asserted, he broke through the rear- guard of the enemy with his own troop and carried off one of the twelve cannon which Henry VIII. had named the twelve apostles. The Sire de Piennes, whose heart was with him, but who was too good a general to disobey orders, reminded him that the king his master had strictly forbidden all aggressive measures, and, therefore, reluctantly summoned him to desist ; but Bayard did not relinquish his prize, which was safely conveyed to the French camp. When, on the 2d of August, Henry joined his army before Terouenne, he was received with loud acclamations, and a few days subsequently he was joined by the Emperor Maximilian, with some thou- sands of Hainaulters and Burgundians ; nor had a week elapsed ere a number of Flemish and other nobles from the Low Countries, despite the neu- trality declared by Margaret, flocked to his banners as volunteers. Meanwhile, moreover, the garrison of the be- sieged city saw themselves threatened by famine ; their provisions were nearly exhausted, and Louis XII., aware of this circumstance, instructed M. de Piennes that Terouenne must be victualled at any risk. Surrounded as it was on all sides by the enemy, this enterprise was, however, one of immense difficulty and certain danger ; and, after mature con- sideration, it was decided that the Sire de Piennes and the Due de Longueville should march a body of fourteen hundred horsemen to the heights of Guinegatte, to distract the attention of the enemy ; 102 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv while Fontrailles, with his Albanian light-horse (or stradiots) should charge the English troops at a particular point, and fling into the moat of the city the salted provisions and powder which they carried before them. The attempt was skilfully made and vigorously carried out. At the head of eight hun- dred men the young commander charged so re- solutely that he broke through the ranks of the besiegers, and, riding directly to the fosse, each man cast down the bag of powder and the pork which he bore upon his horse, and then, making face upon the enemy, succeeded in regaining the main body with a gallantry as daring as it was suc- cessful. This was, however, the only favourable moment for the French arms ; and even this had met its counterpoise on the heights of Guinegatte, which the gendarmes had no sooner attained than they saw in their rear ten thousand English archers, four thousand lansquenets, and eight pieces of artillery. Maximilian had been apprised of their intended stratagem by his spies, numbers of whom were employed in both the adverse camps ; while, in many instances, there were double traitors among them, who alternately served or betrayed either, as their interest prompted. The French soldiery, who were aware that they had not been ordered to that point to come to an engagement with the enemy, retrograded at the command of their leaders, but so confusedly that, from a trot, they soon broke into a gallop, and threw themselves pell-mell upon a rear-guard of 15 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 103 cavalry headed by the Due de Longueville and the Marquis de la Palice, which they scattered, and, pass- ing through their midst, continued to fly until they reached Blandy, where the infantry were encamped, who were nearly driven, in their turn, from their position by the impetuosity of this unexpected charge. An attempt was made by a few of their leaders to make head, with a handful of men, against the German cavalry, who were in pursuit of the fugitives ; and among these the foremost were the Sire de la Palice and the Due de Longueville. In vain, however, did the former shout, " Turn, men- at-arms, turn ; this is nothing !" The alarm had spread through the whole body ; the terrified troops passed on, regardless of his cry ; and, although he still strove to cover their disorderly retreat, sup- ported by some of the most gallant spirits of the army, his self-devotion, although it tended to save the French army, was unfortunate for himself and his friends, as they were nearly all taken prisoners ; among others, Longueville, La Palice, Bayard, La Fayette, Clermont d'Anjou, and Bussy d'Amboise. This flight from Guinegatte, which took place on the 1 5th April 1513, obtained for the encounter the name of the Battle of the Spurs, these having been the only efficient weapons made use of by the hostile armies. Very few lives were sacrificed on either side ; but of the principal prisoners M. de la Palice alone succeeded in effecting his retreat, while Bay- ard won his ransom in so gallant a manner that we must, to do it ample justice, give the episode in the 104 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv words of his biographer : " The good knight with- out fear and without reproach retired very sorrow- fully, and ever and anon turned upon his enemies with fourteen or fifteen gendarmes who had stood by him. In retreating he came to a little bridge, whereon no more than two men could pass abreast ; and there was a great ditch full of water which came from a distance of more than half a league, and turned a mill three furlongs farther on. When he was upon the bridge he said to those that were with him ' Gentlemen, Let us stop here, for the enemy will not gain this bridge from us in the space of an hour.' Then he called one of his archers and said to him ' Hie you to our camp, and tell my Lord de la Palice that I have stopped the enemy short for at least half an hour ; that during that interval he must make the forces draw up in order of battle, and let them not be alarmed, but march hither slowly ; for, should the adversaries advance to the camp and find them in this confusion, they would infallibly be de- feated.' " The archer goes straight to the camp and leaves the good knight with the inconsiderable number of men by whom he was accompanied guarding that little bridge, where he did all that prowess could achieve. The Burgundians and Hainaulters arrived, but were obliged to fight on the hither side of the bridge, as they could not very easily effect a passage. This gave the French, who had returned to their camp, leisure to place themselves in order, and in a posture of defence, in the event of its proving neces- 15 1 3 FRANCIS THE FIRST 105 sary. When the Burgundians found themselves withstood by such a handful of men, they cried out that archers should be sent for with all speed, and some went to hasten them. Meanwhile about two hundred cavaliers followed the course of the stream until they discovered the mill, by which they crossed. The good knight, thus enclosed on both sides, then said to his people ' Sirs, let us surrender to these gentlemen, for all the daring we might display would avail us nothing. Our horses are weary, our adver- saries are ten to one against us, and our forces full three leagues off; so that, if we tarry but a short while longer, and the English archers come up, they will cut us to pieces.' At these words the aforesaid Burgundians and Hainaulters arrived, shouting 'Burgundy! Burgundy!' and made a mighty onset upon the French, who, having no further means of resistance, surrendered, one here, another there, to those of most seeming consideration. While each was endeavouring to take his prisoner, the good knight espied, under some dwarf trees, a gentleman in goodly attire, who, by reason of the excessive heat he was in, whereby he was completely over- come, had taken off his helmet, and was so turmoiled and weary that he cared not to be at the trouble of taking prisoners. He spurred straight up to this person, grasping his sword, which he pointed at the other's throat, and exclaimed, ' Surrender, cavalier, or you die.' Terribly dismayed was this gentleman, for he thought that his whole company were made prisoners, and being in fear of his life he said, ' I io6 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, iv give myself up, then, since I am taken in this man- ner ; but who are you ? ' 'I am Captain Bayard/ replied the good knight, 'who surrender to you. Here is my sword ; I pray you be pleased to carry me away with you. But do me this kindness : should we meet with any English on the road who may offer to take our lives, let me have it back again.' This the gentleman promised and fulfilled, for, as they drew towards the camp, they were both obliged to use their weapons against certain English who sought to slay the prisoners, whereby they gained nothing. " Then was the good knight conducted to the camp of the King of England, and into the tent of the gentleman by whom he had been captured, who entertained him very well for three or four days. On the fifth the good knight said to him, ' My worthy sir, I should be right glad if you would have me conveyed in safety to the king, my master's camp, for I am already weary of being here.' ' How say you ?' asked the other ; ' we have not yet treated of your ransom.' 'My ransom?' said the good knight ; 'your own, you mean, for you are my prisoner ; and if, after you gave me your word, I surrendered to you, it was to save my life, and for no other reason.' Great was the amazement of the gentleman, especially when the good knight added : ' Sir, if you do not keep your word, I am confident that I shall make my escape by some means or other ; but be assured that I shall insist upon doing battle with you afterward.' The gentleman knew 1 5 13 FRANCIS THE FIRST 107 not what reply to make, for he had heard a great deal about Captain Bayard, and by no means relished the idea of fighting with him. However, being a very courteous knight, he at length said : ' My Lord of Bayard, I am desirous of dealing fairly with you ; I will refer the matter to the cap- tains." The brave but disconcerted captor scrupulously kept his word ; and as the arrival of Bayard in the hostile camp soon got bruited abroad, Maximilian caused him to be summoned to his tent, and, as he entered, exclaimed gaily : " Captain Bayard, I am delighted to see you. Would to God that I had many men like yourself, for, if I had, I should not be long ere I requited the king your master for the good offices which he did me in times past. I believe that we formerly fought together, and I think it was then said that Bayard never fled." " If I had done so upon this occasion, Sire," was the proud reply, " I should not now have been here." At this moment Henry VIII. entered the tent, to whom the emperor presented the good knight, who received their courtesies with respect and modesty, after which the peculiarity of his position was discussed, and it was decided that he should be restored to liberty unransomed on condition that he should not bear arms for six weeks, during which time he should remain on parole, but free to reside in such Flemish cities as he should desire to visit. Bayard bent the knee in acknowledgment of this concession, and a few days subsequently took leave io8 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, iv of the allied sovereigns and proceeded to Flanders, where he amused himself by giving fetes, and endearing himself to the people by the chivalry and courtesy of his deportment. In such pursuits the period of his probation rapidly wore away, and he once more girt on his armour and joined his standard. Meanwhile Louis had profited by the supineness of his enemies, who, instead of pursuing their ad- vantage after the victory of Terouenne, had allowed the favourable moment to escape them, and withdrew his army from Blangy into Picardy, while Henry and Maximilian returned each to his own territories. CHAPTER V Divisions among the French generals Francis appointed to the command of the new army Terouenne capitulates, and is destroyed by Henry VIII. Burgundy revolts The Swiss determine to invade France They are worsted at Dijon, and enter into a treaty with the French general The treaty is disavowed by Louis Dismal prospects of France Henry VIII. enters Tournay, and returns to England A twelvemonths' truce signed by the European sovereigns Death of Anne de Bretagne Grief of the king Marriage of the Princesse Claude and Francis The Court mourn- ing Louis urged to take a third wife The Due de Longueville nego- tiates for the hand of the Princess Mary of England Misunderstanding between the two monarchs The treaty is renewed Betrothal of the contracting parties Mary and Brandon, Duke of Suffolk Arrival of the young queen in France Anne Boleyn The royal marriage Court festivities Mary becomes enamoured of Francis Position of the Prin- cesse Claude A courtier's caution Accusation of Brantome Illness of Louis XII. His last interview with Francis Death of Louis XII. UNHAPPILY it was not alone against foreign ani- mosity that Louis XII. had, at this period, to contend. Constant misunderstandings, which were even said to have influenced the late defeat, had taken place between the Due de Longueville and M. de Piennes ; and the king became so seriously alarmed for their consequences, upon finding that the troops were split into factions, each siding with their favourite commander, that he determined to confide to the young Due de Valois the conduct of the forthcoming campaign ; his prowess at Navara having given him confidence alike in his personal no THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v courage and his judgment, only insisting upon a continuance of the same system of defensive opera- tions of which he had already ascertained the policy. Francis eagerly embraced this new opportunity of distinguishing himself, and, notwithstanding his youth, carried out the wishes of his royal uncle with great forbearance. He marched the army back to Encre on the Somme, where he could effectually resist any attack, while he protected the frontier ; and the enemy soon convinced him of the prudence of this first measure by capitulating with the de- fenders of Terouenne upon more favourable terms than had previously been anticipated ; after which Henry VIII., acting upon the selfish suggestion of Maximilian, who had on former occasions been frequently kept in check by that fortress, utterly demolished the fortifications for whose possession he had exhausted a large amount both of human life and treasure, and then proceeded to lay siege to Tournay. The French monarch had, however, another enemy to contend against. The peace of Bur- gundy, which province the emperor had never ceased to reclaim as the inheritance of Marie de Bourgogne, his first wife, and the mother of his children, was threatened with a new invasion ; . and although the bulk of the population were decidedly favourable to the rule of Louis, the nobility, from old association, pecuniary interest, or national vanity, leant generally to their ancient independence and the sway of their hereditary dukes ; while, aware of FRANCIS THE FIRST in this fact, the Swiss, whose dislike to the French monarch had never abated, and who were flushed, even to arrogance, by their recent success at Novara, resolved to carry .the war into Burgundy. Some trifling insurrections had broken out in Switzerland, and the magistrates had affected to believe that they were instigated by French agents, although they might have been readily traced to the immense booty gained by the troops in the late struggle, whence resulted every description of licen- tiousness and disorder, naturally ending in insub- ordination and misrule. The Helvetic diet, whose tranquillity was disturbed by these outbreaks, was not slow in discovering an escape-valve for the heated and restless spirits who thus opposed its authority, and consequently determined at once to release itself by organizing a distant expedition, and at the same time to recruit its treasury by the pillage of France. A force of eighteen thousand Swiss was accordingly collected in the different cantons, which were reviewed on the gth of August at Zurich, and marched on the following day, under the command of Jacques de Watte ville, an advocate of Berne, supported by a council formed of the chiefs of the several divisions. They traversed Franche-Comt6 as far as Gray, where they were met, on the 27th of the month, by the Duke Ulrich of Wirtemburg, who was awaiting their arrival at the head of the German and Comtois cavalry, and thence they pro- ceeded to Dijon, which they reached on the 7th of September. 112 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v The city was ill calculated for resistance, and M. de la Tremouille had, with very indifferent suc- cess, endeavoured to put it into such a state of defence as might enable him at least to guard against any surprise. He therefore resolved to temporize, and, if possible, to conciliate an enemy against which he was totally unable, with his in- adequate force, to contend. By a lucky chance he made prisoners of several Swiss officers in a sally which he made on one occasion, and he availed himself of this circumstance to impress upon them the policy of renewing the old attachment which had formerly subsisted between the two countries, expatiating on the value which his own monarch attached to their alliance, and his earnest wish to renew the good understanding which had been lately broken. As some among them evinced no reluctance while listening to these arguments, he concluded by lauding their late bravery, distributing a few presents, which were well received, and finally restoring them to liberty without exacting any species of ransom, a courtesy to which they were by no means insensible, and the good effect of which became soon apparent by the arrival at Dijon of a safe-conduct, and an invitation for him to pay a visit to their chiefs. He at once accepted this over- ture, and was so successful during the interview as to induce his late adversaries to conclude a negotiation which was not a mere capitulation for the beleaguered city, or a momentary truce, but a definitive treaty, involving not only the interests of France and 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 113 Switzerland, but also those of all Europe. By this treaty it was arranged that he should pay over upon the instant the sum of four hundred thousand crowns (part of which was immediately raised among the officers of his little army, and deposited in the hands of the council) ; pledge himself to the liquida- tion of all arrears of pension due to the Swiss from France for former services performed to the resti- tution of all cities, strongholds, or territory held by Louis XII. which were appurtenances to the Holy See to the speedy evacuation of the castles of Milan, Cremona, and Asti ; and also guarantee that the French king should renounce all future preten- sions, both for himself and his successors, to the duchy of Milan and the lordships of Cremona and Asti ; and that none of the individuals who had joined the Swiss in their expedition to Burgundy should suffer any damage in such properties as they might possess within the kingdom of France. On these conditions peace and amity were to be sworn between Louis XII., the Swiss League, Franche-Comte, the Duke of Wurtemberg, and the Sire de Vergy. The Pope was to be at liberty to ac- cede to this treaty, should he see fit to do so, as were also the emperor and the holy Roman empire ; and, finally, M. de la Tremouille pledged himself that the confederates should, on their return to their own country, receive the sum of four hundred thousand crowns, payable at Zurich, one moiety within a fort- night after their arrival, and the remainder at the ensuing festival of Saint Martin. As the whole VOL. i 8 U4 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v amount of forfeit money claimed could not be collected upon the spot, they consented to receive twenty thou- sand crowns on account ; but, as surety for the re- mainder, they carried away with them, in the character of hostages, the Baron de Mezieres, the nephew of M. de la Tremouille ; Rochefort, the Seneschal of Dijon, and four citizens. The former having been, however, forewarned by his relative that the treaty would not, in all probability, be ratified, took the first opportunity of effecting his escape. Louis XII. either felt or affected the greatest indignation at the concessions made by his general, and refused to fulfil conditions which he declared to be degrading and unfavourable to himself. He even addressed an autograph letter to M. de la Tremouille, in which he asserted that he considered such a treaty as that to which he had given his assent to be marvellously strange, a truth which was admitted in the reply : " But, by my faith, Sire," added the straightforward soldier, " I was constrained to give it by the wretched provision which had been made for the preservation of your kingdom." The displeasure of the king was of short dura- tion ; and although he still adhered to his resolution of resisting the conditions of the treaty, he never- theless endeavoured to conciliate the Swiss, and empowered M. de la Tremouille to raise a loan of fifty thousand crowns in Burgundy, to satisfy the most importunate of their demands. He even con- descended to dissimulate, and sought to gain time, 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 115 but he could not deceive the Swiss, who, already prejudiced against him, felt that they were over- reached, and vowed a vengeance which they fear- fully executed during the succeeding reign. Fortune had declared itself adverse to Louis ; nor were his allies exempted from their own share of disaster. The Venetians were signally defeated by the Spaniards, and the unhappy James IV. of Scotland lost his life at Flodden Field. The French king had, however, no time to indulge regret for the reverses of others. On the I5th of September Maximilian and Henry had, as we have already stated, sat down before Tournay, which, situated within the boundary of the Low Countries, had enjoyed a government almost republican under the protection of France, and considered as one of its most precious privileges its exemption from the necessity of admitting a garrison within its walls. Consequently, when, at the commencement of the campaign, Louis had offered to send them troops for their defence, they arrogantly replied that " Tour- nay had never yet turned, and would not turn now " a vaunt which left them in the power of their enemies, who treated with contempt the undis- ciplined citizens by whom they were opposed, and in the course of a few hours stormed their walls and compelled them to a capitulation, wherein, how- ever, Henry VIII. guaranteed to them the con- tinuance of their privileges. After having made his entrance into the city with a puerile ostentation totally disproportioned to the Ii6 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v circumstances, and which tended to excite the ridicule of all by whom it was witnessed, Henry, satisfied with the result of a campaign which, had it been efficiently conducted, must have tended to enhance both his own honour and the interests of his kingdom, returned at once to England, and thus relieved the French king from an enemy who might at any moment have become formidable. On the 1 3th of March 1514 a treaty was signed at Orleans by the several sovereigns who had been engaged in the wars of Italy, by which a truce of twelve months was determined on ; while the Swiss, who were not included in the negotiation, laid down their arms in accordance with that of Dijon. Louis XII. had acceded to all the demands of the Pope, and no longer possessed any portion of the papal states, a circumstance which afforded great relief to the mind of Anne de Bretagne, but which was never- theless so far from conducing, as she had antici- pated, to the restoration of her shattered health, that, although she eagerly watched the progress of events which were rapidly working out this result, she was not destined to witness it ; for, at the close of the previous campaign, when her royal husband, after having distributed his forces in the fortified places of Picardy, returned to Blois for the winter, he found her sinking under the disease to which she had long been a victim, and which finally terminated her life on the 9th of January. The grief of the king was unbounded when he became convinced that she had really ceased to 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 117 exist, and when, on the following Friday, her body had been conveyed with great magnificence to St. Denis, and there pompously interred, he immedi- ately retired to the Bois de Vincennes, where, during eight days, he shut himself into his private apartments, forbidding all access to his person, in order that he might give free course to his grief. He not only assumed a sable habit himself, in con- formity with the taste of his lost wife, but he com- pelled his whole Court to do the same ; nor would he, when he again appeared in public, receive any foreign ambassador who was not similarly attired. Nevertheless, he did not fail in the pledge which he had given to the States-General at Tours, and on the loth of May the Princesse Claude was publicly married, at St. Germain- en -Laye, to her cousin the Due de Valois. But even upon this occasion the king would not permit that the mourning garments of his Court should be laid aside ; and accordingly an old chronicler quoted by Brantome declares that "when he gave his daughter to M. d'Angouleme, afterwards King Francis, the mourning was not remitted by his Court ; and on the day of the espousals in the chapel of St. Germain -en -Laye the bridegroom and the bride were simply attired in black cloth, handsomely, and in funereal fashion, for the death of the before-mentioned queen, Madame Anne de Bretagne, in the presence of the king her father, accompanied by all the princes of the blood, and noble lords, and prelates, and prin- Ii8 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v cesses, and ladies, each dressed in a mourning robe of black." How evil an omen was this for the gentle- hearted Princesse Claude ! The marriage was no sooner accomplished than Louis XII. invested his son-in-law with the ad- ministration of the duchy of Brittany somewhat, as the Breton historians declare, contrary to his wishes ; but although Madame Claude de France, who was its heiress, had espoused the presumptive heir to the crown, the contract by which they were united contained no clause which assured to her husband the actual possession of the coveted duchy ; while this circumstance was rendered still more unpalatable to the young prince by the fact that, about the same period, Louis was himself induced by his counsellors to entertain the project of a third marriage, than which no step could have been more inimical to the prospects of Francis, while the selec- tion ultimately made by the king and his advisers was probably as little calculated to ensure his own happiness, had the union been fated to be of long duration. Still newly widowed, and deeply attached to the memory of Anne de Bretagne, for whose sake he had repudiated his first wife, state policy on the one hand, and on the other his anxiety to become the father of a son to whom he might bequeath his crown, induced the French king to lend a willing ear to the suggestions of those about him, and although in his fifty-third year, when his constitu- 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 119 tion had become seriously undermined by severe and constant attacks of gout, to give a new queen to France. The Austrian party formed by Anne de Bretagne, fearing the future influence of Louise de Savoie when her son should attain the throne, having been unable to prevent the marriage of Francis with the Princesse Claude, assailed the king with perpetual expostulations, and proposed to him, in the first place, the hand of Margaret of Austria, Gouvernante of the Low Countries ; but although this princess, owing to her betrothal to the dauphin, had been educated at the Court of France, and had, at that period, interested the affections of Louis, then Due d'Orleans, she had now attained her thirty-fourth year, and was the childless widow of two husbands, a sterility which he declared to be an insuperable objection to their alliance. Ferdinand of Spain then offered to him Eleanora of Austria, 1 the niece of Margaret, and sister of the Archduke Charles, at that time in the very bloom of youth. To this union Louis ad- vanced no objection, the rather as it was to form the pledge of a reconciliation between himself, Maximilian, and Ferdinand ; nor did the three monarchs lose any time in deciding on the outline 1 Eleanora of Austria was the daughter of Philip I. of Spain, and the sister of the Emperor Charles V. Born at Louvain in 1498, she married, in 1519, Emmanuel, King of Portugal; and after his death, which occurred in 1530, she became Queen of France by her second marriage with Francis I. This union was extremely unhappy, owing to the passion of the monarch for the beautiful Duchesse d'Etampes. When once more left a widow in 1547 she withdrew to Spain, and died in 1558 without issue. 120 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v of a treaty to be executed at the expense of their ancient allies, the English, the Venetians, and the Swiss. This project was, however, rendered abortive by the suspicions of Henry VIII., which suggested some occult and important reason for the delay of Maximilian in concluding the nuptials of the Arch- duke Charles with the Princess Mary of England, his own sister. Nor was it long ere they were confirmed through the agency of the Due de Longueville, who had been taken prisoner at the " Battle of the Spurs," and whom the pleasure-loving king had admitted to his intimacy, and favoured so greatly that he was in the habit of playing tennis with him, and permitting him to win until he had gained the sum appointed for his ransom, which amounted to fifty thousand crowns. The resentment of the English monarch upon finding himself duped both by Maximilian and Ferdinand encouraged the duke, during their fre- quent conversations, to introduce upon every favour- able occasion some well-timed allusion to the injury sustained by both France and England from the continuation of a war which exhausted the resources of both without benefit to either, and to propose a peace which he was aware would be highly wel- come to his own sovereign. As Henry listened without any manifestation of displeasure to these frequent hints, De Longueville became in time still more explicit. He at length insinuated that the death of Anne de Bretagne had opened up a 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 121 medium of union between the two nations which might tend to their mutual advantage ; declaring, at the same time, that although the marriage of a princess of sixteen with a sovereign of fifty-three might appear in some respects unsuitable, yet that this inequality in years would find its compensation in many circumstances too obvious to be over- looked, and of which he would consequently adduce but one, namely, that Henry would, by acceding to an alliance between his sister and the French king, withdraw himself from the perfidious Fer- dinand, upon whose faith he could no longer rely, and connect himself and his interests for life with those of a prince whose probity and honour were above suspicion. The English monarch listened, and was con- vinced. Broken faith and a harassing war on the one side, and a firm ally and speedy peace on the other, left little opportunity for hesitation ; and accordingly, about two months subsequent to the death of Anne de Bretagne, Louis XII., who readily welcomed the prospect of a union which would convert a formidable enemy into a fast friend, de- puted De Longueville, whose ransom had been paid in English crowns, and whose liberty had been thus easily acquired, to ask for him the hand of the young and beautiful Princess Mary, the affianced but unclaimed bride of Charles of Austria. The articles were concluded, after some diffi- culties, originating in the desire of Louis to hasten the decision of his brother-monarch by a hostile 122 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v demonstration, on the pretext that Henry had not yet ratified the treaty of Orleans, which he effected by marching eight thousand men and a brigade of artillery against the castle of Guines, near Calais ; a want of tact of which he was immediately made conscious by the indignant retort of the English sovereign, who at once resented the practical threat by declaring that he had an army of twenty thou- sand men ready to cross the Channel in defence of his stronghold, if need be. This mutual defiance necessarily caused a tem- porary suspension of the negotiations of marriage; but the Due de Longueville, unwilling to see all his exertions rendered nugatory, addressed himself at this delicate juncture to Wolsey, then Bishop of Lincoln, and, authorized by his royal master, made such proposals to the English minister as induced him to espouse his cause. The anger of Henry gave way before the flattering overtures of the French plenipotentiary, and it was ultimately agreed that the marriage should take place, upon condition that Tournay should remain in the hands of the English ; that Richard de la Pole, 1 then an exile in France, and who affected to revive the pre- tensions of the house of York, should be banished to Metz, and remain a pensioner of the French king ; that Henry should receive the payment of a million of crowns, being the arrears due by treaty to his father and himself; and that the royal bride 1 Richard de la Pole was the fourth son of Elizabeth, sister of Edward IV. 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 123 should be portioned with four hundred thousand crowns, and enjoy as large a jointure as any pre- vious queen of France, not even excepting her immediate predecessor, Anne de Bretagne, although the latter had been heiress of Brittany. Not only were the respective ages of the con- tracting parties wholly disproportioned, but the previous education of Mary had rendered her in every respect ill-suited to perform the duties which she was thus called upon so suddenly to fulfil. Her heart had, moreover, already been bestowed else- where ; while, as she afterwards proved, her affec- tions were by no means so stable as to hold out any rational hope that she would attach herself in earnest and good faith to her mature husband, although she had been so well tutored in courtly dissimulation as effectually to conceal her real feel- ings. Having lost her mother when she was only five years of age, she had been allowed a greater license of thought and action than was compatible with her sex and rank ; and although scarcely sixteen at the period of her marriage, she had already encouraged the attentions of Charles Bran- don, Duke of Suffolk, the foster-brother and favourite of Henry VIII., whose comparatively obscure birth had been concealed, even if not for- gotten, under the splendour of his new title. The partiality of the king and his own universal popu- larity rendered the new-made duke bold ; while the evident admiration of Mary, upon whom his great personal beauty and manly bearing had not 124 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v failed to produce their effect, combined with the constant opportunities which were afforded to him of prosecuting his ambitious suit, would probably have ensured its ultimate success had not the over- tures of Louis at once opened the eyes of the English monarch to the impolicy of such a con- cession. Thus far Mary was beyond all doubt more to be commiserated than condemned, and had she more perfectly fulfilled her mission as a wife and a queen, every heart must have sympathized in the cruel constraint to which she had been sub- jected ; but she was vain, reckless, and careless of that dignity which would have compelled respect, and taught those who approached her to overlook the young and blooming woman in the self-con- trolled and virtuous sovereign. Before the ratification of the marriage -treaty the princess declared, in the presence of a notary and witnesses, that she had pledged her faith by compulsion to the Archduke Charles, who was to have married her by proxy on attaining his four- teenth year, which he had failed to do ; and she further asserted that she had received assurances to the effect that his counsellors and confidential friends had exerted all their influence to infuse into his mind a spirit of resentment against, and dislike to, her royal brother. The treaty was then completed, and the months of August and September were spent in making the necessary preparations for the voyage of the young iS3-i4 FRANCIS THE FIRST 125 queen one of the conditions agreed upon having been that Henry should defray all the outlay of her journey to Abbeville, and that one moiety of her dower should be expended in jewels. On the 1 3th of August the marriage took place by proxy at Greenwich, the Due de Longueville representing his royal master ; after which the prin- cess crossed to Boulogne, attended by a splendid retinue, where she was received upon her landing by the Due de Vendome, who a day or two subse- quently conducted her to Abbeville. The king, whose impatience had been excited by the florid descriptions which he had heard of her beauty, and who was anxious to ascertain their truth, had already arrived in that city ; but, unable to control his desire to see her at the earliest moment, he mounted his horse and proceeded to a village upon the road, where they were privately introduced, and he remained for a few moments in conversation with his bride and the triumphant ambassador. Fas- cinated and elated, he then returned to Abbeville as unostentatiously as he had left it; while the prin- cess continued her stately progress to the city gates, where she was welcomed according to the prescribed ceremonial by the Due de Valois, and greeted by a succession of the most costly and magnificent page- ants that human ingenuity and knightly courtesy could invent. We have already alluded to the brilliance of the young queen's retinue, which was worthy the sister of one sovereign and the bride of another ; but per- 126 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v haps the most interesting circumstance connected with it exists in the fact that the fair and unfortunate Anne Boleyn, then in her first girlhood, was one of her four maids of honour, and of the thirty-six female attendants by whom she was accompanied. Even at that early age, however, it would appear, from the testimony of a contemporary historian, that the Court beauty had already imbibed that thirst for admiration and that baneful ambition which were fated to be her downfall ; for when, by her grace and beauty, and above all by the seductive attraction of her manner and the vivacity of her intellect, she had captivated the mind of the Princesse Claude to such an extent that she caused her to be attached to her own household, she soon wearied of the whole- some restraints to which she was there subjected, and passed into the suite of the Duchesse d'Alen- ^on, where she became the idol of the courtiers by whom she was surrounded, and whose attentions she encouraged until she felt that they w r ere likely to interfere with her more serious projects. The impression produced upon the feelings of Louis XII. by the extraordinary loveliness of his new consort has been duly recorded by all contem- porary historians, but the emotions of the young and blooming princess, thus abruptly compelled to receive to her heart the mature and already infirm monarch, have nowhere been registered. Suffice it, that the marriage was once more celebrated at Abbe- ville on the nth of October, and that an alliance which had originally been dictated by state policy was 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 127 at once cemented by the charms of the girl-queen ; while it was rendered as welcome to the nation as to its monarch by the fact that it put a termination to a disastrous war with England and to some difficult negotiations with Austria. The ceremony was not performed in the cathe- dral, but in a vast saloon of the palace, which was hung throughout with cloth of gold, and so spacious that all present could command a view of the contracting parties. The king and queen were seated side by side under a canopy at the upper end of the apartment, and the royal bride, with her hair totally unconfined, and scattered over her shoulders, wore a small hat above the luxuriant tresses, which were unanimously declared to be unrivalled through- out Christendom, in lieu of the crown which could be assumed only when her coronation took place at St. Denis. The Due d'Angouleme officiated as bridesman, and the Princesse Claude was the prin- cipal attendant of the bride, although her fair brow was clouded as she remembered the recent death of her mother. A splendid banquet, followed by a ball, concluded the ceremony ; after which the Court pro- ceeded to St. Denis, where, on the 5th of November, the ceremonial of Mary's coronation took place with great pomp in the cathedral ; and on the succeeding day she made her entry into Paris as Queen of France, accompanied not only by all that was great and noble in the country, but also by her English suite and a number of foreigners of distinction, all of whom were entertained during the marriage festivi- 128 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v ties at the expense of the king. These tourneys and banquets were continued for the space of six weeks, after which the English retinue of the young queen returned home laden with valuable presents, leaving the Duke of Suffolk as ambassador at the French Court, a short-sighted piece of policy, of which Henry VIII. in after-life would assuredly never have been guilty. The advent of the new sovereign at once changed the mourning of the Court into festivity and splen- dour ; nor was it long ere the fancy, if not the heart, of Mary became thralled by the handsome person and chivalric accomplishments of the young Due de Valois ; while not even the recollection that he was the husband of her step-daughter sufficed to compel her to that self-control which might have concealed her weakness. Suffolk himself was forgotten in this new passion, and by her own levity and want of caution it ere long became a subject of comment to the whole Court. In the tilts and joustings which daily succeeded each other for her entertainment, Francis was, unhappily, always the most prominent figure ; thus affording a dangerous contrast to her royal husband, who, despite the efforts which he made to assimilate himself in prowess with the young and gallant cavaliers about him, soon evinced unequi- vocal symptoms of his inability to persevere in such a career of dissipation and fatigue. The natural result supervened ; Louis in a short time fell into a state of langour and exhaustion which betrayed that overtaxed nature was revenging 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 129 herself for these untimely excesses, and the hopes of Francis once more became buoyant. Meanwhile, however, he succeeded in establishing a closer inti- macy between his young stepmother and his gentle wife, by which he was enabled to enjoy the society of the former without any apparent effort, and at the same time to secure himself against any new rival in her affections. To the Princesse Claude such a friend was doubly welcome from the fact that she already suffered severely under the rigorous rule of Louise de Savoie, who, profiting by her timid and yielding nature, revenged upon the daughter her old hatred of the dead parent, and condemned her to a life of almost perfect seclusion, in which she was wholly dependant for amusement upon the nunlike^ court which had been formed for her, her breviary, and her spinning- wheel. Little did the pure-hearted and neglected wife of the brilliant Francis apprehend, when she received with sisterly affection the beautiful young queen, that she was daily undermining her in the affections of a husband whom she idolized. But this, according to Brantome, did not fail to come to pass. Mary was, on her side, as much dazzled by the showy qualities of Francis as he was enthralled by her surpassing beauty ; nor was it long ere she listened without displeasure to an avowal of his pas- sion, rendered doubly culpable from their relative position. M. de Grignaud also, a noble of Peri- gord, who had been chevalier cChonneur to Anne de Bretagne, and then held the same office under Mary, VOL. i 9 130 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, v considered it necessary to warn the Due de Valois against the possible consequences of so undue an intimacy ; and upon finding his remonstrances disregarded, subsequently informed Louise de Savoie of the peril to her son's interests which must super- vene, in order that she might keep a strict watch over the progress of their attachment. That Mary should ever have contemplated so hein- ous a crime is, however, more than improbable. Guilt is ever prone to assume a veil of caution and dis- simulation, while there was nothing bordering upon these in her common deportment. On the contrary, she constantly addressed the duke as " my son-in- law," and admitted him publicly to all the privileges of so near a connection ; openly evincing the prefer- ence which she felt for his society, and exceeding on many occasions the limits which a more delicately constituted mind would have conceded even to the claim of so intimate a relationship. That she not only admired Francis, but also loved him, is her reproach ; and that reproach should surely suffice for it was a heavy one. The subsequent attempt imputed to her by the same authority to impose a surreptitious heir upon the nation is deserving of quite as little credit ; for Mary, who had already given proof of her aptitude in con- forming herself to circumstances in the almost affec- tionate letters which she had addressed to Louis XII. before their marriage, and who, on the demise of the king, saw herself closely surrounded by the very individuals who were the most vitally concerned 1513-14 FRANCIS THE FIRST 131 in unmasking such a deception, was not likely to degrade alike herself and her high station by so base and shallow an artifice ; while her almost immediate union with the Duke of Suffolk, however much it tended to confirm the previous opinion of her levity, is nevertheless also the best refutation of the coarse and unmanly slander. That she was eminently im- prudent during the brief period of her royalty is un- fortunately undeniable, but from imprudence there is, happily, a long step to flagrant culpability. In any case, she was not long destined to retain the dignity of Queen of France, for she had been but eighty- two days a wife ere she became a widow. The first symptoms of the langour which proved fatal to Louis XII. manifested themselves, as we have already stated, before the festivities consequent upon his mar- riage had yet terminated. An alarming attack of gout supervened, and he became so much enfeebled by its violence that he was at length compelled to attend the jousts and tourneys upon a litter ; while so rapidly did the disease progress that ere long he was unable to leave his bed. Nevertheless his phy- sicians, unwilling to believe that he was really sink- ing, continued to declare that he would rally ; but Louis himself repudiated the idea. He too surely felt that the grasp of death was upon him, and met his fate with a calmness worthy of a great monarch and an honest man. When he became conscious that his end was near he summoned the young Due de Valois to his bedside, and having, with considerable difficulty, 132 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, v raised himself to a sitting posture, flung his arms about his neck, and embracing him with affectionate emotion said feebly, but firmly, " Francis, I am dying ! I consign our subjects to your care." The prince burst into tears, and implored him to dismiss such gloomy thoughts, as his physicians augured more favourably. The dying king, however, only shook his head ; he was aware that earthly help could avail him no longer, and as his weeping successor established himself beside his pillow, he exerted his last remaining powers to impress upon him the awful extent of the responsibility with which he would, in a few hours, be invested. Acute suffering at length terminated his efforts, and he expired in the arms of his royal nephew, with a smile of gratified affection upon his lips. Thus, while yet deeply enamoured of his fair young wife, surrounded by worldly grandeur and festivity, and meditating in his graver moments future expeditions against Italy, Louis XII., whose hurried journey to receive his bride, and whose exertions during the subsequent rejoicings to assume the semblance of a youth and vigour which he no longer possessed, had overtaxed his physical powers, fell a victim to his imprudence about midnight of the ist of January 1515. CHAPTER VI 1515 The queen cedes her estates to her husband The Bretons disallow her right Enthusiasm of the French people on the accession of Francis His coronation His interview with Queen Mary His caution to Suffolk Brandon marries the widowed queen Is reproached by Francis for his perfidy But reconciled to Henry at the entreaty of his wife, and returns to England Francis makes his public entry into Paris His profusion His romantic tastes His high spirit He forms his government Charles de Bourbon created Constable of France Marriage of Mademoiselle de Bourbon with the Due de Lorraine The king and the wild boar The court of Madame d'Angouleme Her maids of honour Circle of the queen Her love of retirement Francis resolves to recover the Milanese The Archduke Charles sends Ambassadors to France Is promised the hand of the Princesse Renee, the queen's sister Henry of Nassau He marries Claudine de Chalon State of Europe Treaty between France and England Francis endeavours to conciliate the Swiss They threaten to invade France Francis marches a strong force towards Burgundy Ferdinand endeavours to alarm the Pope and the emperor Francis removes to Amboise, and sends an embassy to Rome. FRANCIS I. was no sooner proclaimed king than Queen Claude, in consideration of the pledge which he had given to provide the dowry of the Princesse Renee, her sister, formally ceded to him the duchy of Brittany and the counties of Nantes, Blois, Etampes, and Montfort, to be enjoyed and go- verned during his life, as veritable Duke of Brittany. This first cession took place on the 22d of April, but on the 28th of June following, as it did not by any means secure to her royal husband the whole 134 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi extent of the desired benefit, the queen was induced to execute a new deed, by which she conferred these privileges upon him for ever, in failure of her own children, should they die before him. This wife- like divestiture was, however, only partially valid, as the marriage-contract of Anne de Bretagne had distinctly endowed her second son with the posses- sion and sovereignty of the duchy ; while, as there had been a failure of male issue, and the clause had never been revised, the Bretons, who were anxious to throw off the yoke of French supremacy, and who contended that the crowns of Brittany and France could not legally be united upon the same head unless it were that of an only son, would not admit the claim of Claude, but declared the right of succession to be in favour of her younger sister ; this alienation and disposal having been, moreover, stipulated when negotiations were pending for a marriage between Madame Claude and the Count of Luxembourg. In this opinion they were sup- ported by another clause, which bestowed the duchy upon the second child, were it male or female ; and in virtue of the said contract the Bretons declared that the Princesse Renee was the legitimate heiress. Consequently the donation made by the queen of Francis I. met with no ratification from the Bretons themselves ; and the rather that there still existed certain families in the duchy who possessed collateral claims to the succession, but who, seeing the king already the father of a young family, every 1 5 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 135 individual of which must inherit before them, re- mained passive, and awaited future events. The acclamations of the army, the lays of the most distinguished national poets, the tumultuous shouting of the vassals, and the congratulations of all the feudatory nobles, were the welcome of Francis as he ascended the throne of France. His first act of royalty was to proclaim a suspen- sion of arms, and once more the country for a brief space breathed freely. On the 25th of January he was crowned with great pomp at the cathedral of Rheims by Robert de Lenoncourt, Archbishop of Paris ; and never had either of those two great cities made so profuse a display of magnificence as upon that occasion ; while previously, as if to refute the most heinous slander of Brantome on Queen Mary, a contemporary writer asserts that Francis waited upon her daily to condole with her upon her bereavement, accompanied by Madame Claude his wife, during the lapse of six weeks the period assigned for the royal widows of France to remain in their beds, seeing no light save that of the wax tapers by which their apartments were illu- minated and that he then and there formally de- manded to know whether he might consider himself as the legitimate sovereign of France, a question which she alone was competent to answer, when the young widow at once and unhesitatingly replied that such he was. Moreover, Francis had long been cognisant of the attachment which had formerly existed between 136 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi Mary and Suffolk, and formally warned the latter against any proceeding which might excite the dis- pleasure of the English monarch. " I am aware, duke," he said gravely, "of your whole history, of your affection for the queen of Louis XII., of the influence which you possess in England, and of much more than you can be pre- pared to suppose. I am anxious that nothing should occur to dishonour me, nor to cause umbrage to my brother, the King of England, towards whom I desire to exhibit the same friendship and cordiality which were felt by the late king, my father-in-law. I therefore entreat of you not to take any steps which may involve our good understanding ; and should a promise have been exchanged between yourself and the queen, to be careful of my dignity, by taking immediate measures to secure the approval of the king your master, and by inducing him to inform me in writing of his good pleasure, at which I shall rejoice should it be favourable to your wishes. But, if it prove otherwise, I warn you on your life to beware of what you do, for should you disobey me I will make you bitterly repent your impru- dence." This caution the duke received without evinc- ing the slightest resentment, declaring on oath that he would attempt nothing derogatory to his own honour or to the will of the king his master ; a pledge which he, however, falsified almost on the instant, urged, as some historians declare, by the representations and entreaties of Mary herself; for FRANCIS THE FIRST 137 only four or five days subsequently to this interview a secret marriage took place, and the dowager-queen of France became Duchess of Suffolk. Francis, indignant at this want of faith, sum- moned the duke to his presence, and reproached him vehemently for his perfidy. He even con- cluded his remarks by saying, " If I were strictly to perform my duty, I should, this very hour, strike your head from your shoulders, for you have vio- lated your oath." The duke, terrified by the menace, hastened to justify himself. " I beseech of you, Sire," he ex- claimed, " to pardon me. I confess that I have erred ; but I entreat your majesty to remember the strength of the affection by which I have been misled, and to extend your mercy in so extreme a case." "Sir," was the stern reply, "you require more than I am disposed to grant ; for you appear on your part to have forgotten that the lady whom you have induced to become your wife was not only a princess of England but also the dowager- queen of France. Let the king your master only require it of me, and I shall at once know how to avenge alike his dignity and my own." But however the young king might have felt it incumbent upon him to exhibit this indignation, it is not the less certain that the clandestine marriage of Mary with one of her brother's subjects was by no means unwelcome to him, as it precluded the possibility of her hand being hereafter bestowed 138 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi upon some prince who might be at enmity with France, and induce the English monarch to espouse his interests ; a consideration which decided him, in accordance with the request of the queen-duchess, to intercede with Henry VIII., and to procure the pardon of the culprits. In this undertaking he easily succeeded, the influence of the favourite being still great over the mind of his royal master ; and he then lost no time before governed by the same policy, and, moreover, instigated beyond all doubt by the human weakness which, whatever might be his own line of conduct, led him to con- ceal the mortification that a nature so vain as his could not fail to experience on perceiving the faci- lity with which Mary had cast off the yoke of his fascinations and restored her wavering affection to its first object Francis hastened to repay to the princess the dowry which she had brought to Louis XII., and to expedite her return to England with her new bridegroom. The solemn entry of the young king into his good city of Paris was hailed with delight. His commanding person, splendid horsemanship, and urbane deportment won all hearts, and made his progress one unbroken triumph. All the princes and noble ladies of the kingdom, as well as many foreigners of rank, were in his train. Jousts and tourneys occupied the succeeding days, at the whole of which the high-born dames and damsels of the Court were present, as well as at the balls and banquets, which filled the streets with equipages 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 139 and torchlight throughout the entire nights. Above twelve hundred princes, dukes, counts, and cavaliers assisted at these memorable festivities, which were rendered still more brilliant by the presence of the queen, the Comtesse d'Angouleme, Madame de Bourbon, and all the ladies of their respective suites. Nor did even this magnificence suffice to satisfy the superb tastes of Francis, for he no sooner felt the crown firmly fixed upon his brow than he became anxious to exhibit his splendour to the whole of his people ; and accordingly, as if to form as startling a contrast as possible with the staid and sober state of his predecessor, the Court galas were divested of their exclusiveness, and not only the whole of the nobility but even the bour- geoisie were admitted, a popular measure, which for a time blinded all ranks to the enormous outlay that they involved ; and it was not until it was found necessary to increase the national taxes, in order to supply the exhausted treasury, that the more prudent of the citizens began to question the expediency of thus impoverishing the revenues of the country for the mere purposes of amusement. The young king no sooner found himself at liberty to regulate his own studies than he laid aside all books, save those chivalrous romances in which, from his earliest boyhood, he had delighted, and upon which he sought to model his own character. Nor was it long ere he infected all the young nobles about his person with the same ex- travagant and romantic fancy. The Knights of the 140 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi Round Table became the models of the French courtiers, and the palace of Charlemagne their ideal habitation ; while the beauties of the Court eagerly welcomed a state of society in which they were out- wardly worshipped as goddesses, despite the con- cealed contempt which the frailties of too many among them might induce. Moreover, Louise de Savoie, who idolized her son, and was proud of his personal beauty and accomplishments, in order to retain her power over his mind, encouraged him in every caprice which could flatter his vanity or consolidate her own influence ; and she, conse- quently, offered rather furtherance than objection to a puerile ambition beneath the dignity of a great monarch, who soon learned to consider animal courage as the highest virtue to which a sovereign could attain, and to neglect the more important tactics of modern warfare, while he attached an undue value to mere personal prowess. Nor was this vital mistake in the field compen- sated by prudence in the internal economy of the nation, for, already constitutionally enamoured of whatever was magnificent and striking, the favourite studies of Francis led him to suppose that all minor considerations should give way before the regal state by which it was his passion to surround him- self; a fatal error, which was destined to be expiated by his subjects ; while, in order the more thoroughly to embody the personage of his excit- able imagination, he taught himself to believe that a monarch who was also a true knight should i5 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 141 neither give battle nor retreat before a superior force. His leading ambition was to be at once a great king and a preux chevalier courteous and liberal towards the other sex, and absolute with his own. To him the members of the national parlia- ments, the most powerful of his nobility, and the bulk of his people, were alike as regarded his sove- reign will and rule ; he admitted no opposition to his power, recognized no right of opinion save his own, and brooked neither dissent nor delay when once his pleasure was made known. These were sufficiently dangerous elements in the nature of one called at so early an age to govern a great nation ; but the redeeming quality of Francis was an elevation of character that led him to emulate both the physical and moral heroism of which he had made his idol ; and thus his very errors wore an aspect of kingly splendour which dazzled even those who were capable of appreciating their danger, and which has subsequently served as their palliation with the majority of his historians. Moreover, the young monarch, reared in the midst of an admiring court, had imbibed no prejudices and nourished no jealousies. The liberality of Louis XII., who had been too high-minded to treat him with distrust because he was destined to succeed to the crown, had effectually prevented the existence of all cabals and party-spirit ; and thus his first act of royal power was not, as is so frequently the case on an accession, to displace, but to confirm, the ministers of the late king in their several offices, 142 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi while he was equally regardful of his personal friends. Upon his mother Francis bestowed the title of duchess, with an increased revenue, and the palace of Amboise as a residence. His sister Marguerite was invested with the dignity of Madame, and was thenceforward called both Madame de France and Madame de Valois, while two years subsequently she was created Duchesse de Berri. The vacant office of Constable of France was, at her earnest request, bestowed upon Charles de Montpensier, who had, by his marriage with his cousin Suzanne, daughter and heiress of the Sire de Beaujeu and Madame Anne de France, become Due de Bourbon, a marriage in which, notwithstanding the amiable qualities possessed by both parties, no happiness could be anticipated, from the fact that bride and bridegroom had alike already bestowed their affec- tions elsewhere, and to which a desire to escape from certain disagreeable discussions which might have arisen from sundry clauses in the will of a common ancestor of the two contracting parties had alone induced Charles to consent. In conferring the dignity of constable upon the duke, Francis I. had made a great concession to his affection for Marguerite, for he had never forgotten the quarrel which had taken place between them ten years previously at the castle of Amboise ; and the favour was enhanced by the fact that, since the treason of Saint-Pol, 1 in the reign of Louis XL, 1 Louis de Luxembourg, Comte de Saint-Pol, was born about 1 5 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 143 this, the highest official dignity in the kingdom, had only been granted long subsequently to the death of that noble by Anne de France, then Dame de Beaujeu, to the Due Jean de Bourbon, her hus- band's elder brother ; while, since that period, the post had remained vacant, and was supposed to be virtually annulled, although not formally abolished, neither Charles VIII. nor Louis XII. having ap- pointed a successor to Jean de Bourbon. The Comte de Vendome became Governor of the Isle of France ; M. de Lautrec l was invested with the government of Guienne ; Bonnivet was created 1430. He at first took up arms for the English, but subsequently made his submission to Charles VII. of France. He became the constant companion of the dauphin, and assisted at the taking of the Xorman towns from the English in 1449. He commanded the vanguard at the battle of Montlhery, and Louis XL, in order to detach him from the Duke of Burgundy, to whose interests he leaned, made him Constable of France. Saint-Pol took the cities of Saint-Quentin and Amiens from Charles the Bold ; but, impelled by the spirit of intrigue with which he was possessed, he endeavoured to create discord between the two princes, who, ultimately perceiving that he was betraying them both, agreed to render him the victim of his own duplicity. An opportunity of doing this soon presented itself by his proposing to open the gates of the fortresses on the Somme to Edward of England, while at the same time he renewed his offers of service to Louis. Seized as a traitor, he was committed to the Bastille, and finally beheaded in the Place de Greve in 1475. 1 Odet de Foix, Sire de Lautrec, Mardchal de France, accom- panied Louis XII. in his expedition in Italy, and entered Genoa with him in I 507. The cousin and comrade-in-arms of Gaston de Foix, who was killed at the battle of Ravenna in 1 5 1 2, he defended him courageously until he himself fell covered with wounds, none of which, however, proved mortal. In 1521 Lautrec was appointed Lieutenant-General of Francis I. in Italy. Compelled by his troops to engage the enemy, he was vanquished at Bicocca, and returned to Paris, after having lost the Milanese. He returned to Italy in 1525 and retook Genoa, Alexandria, and Pavia, and in 1528 fell a victim to a fever engendered by the excessive heat to which he had been exposed during the campaign. 144 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi Admiral of the Fleet ; the Sire de la Palice was made Marshal of France ; M. de Boissy, who had completed the education of the young king, received the appointment of Grand Master, vacated by the promotion of M. de la Palice, as well as the superin- tendence of affairs ; and Antoine Duprat, 1 the protegd of Madame d'Angouleme, was, at her earnest request, created Chancellor of the Kingdom. This was the most unfortunate of all the appoint- ments made by Francis, as to the machinations of this unworthy minister many of the subsequent calamities of his reign have been universally attri- buted. Rendered far-sighted by his ambition, Duprat had, pending the misunderstanding which existed between Anne de Bretagne and Louise de Savoie (at which period he was first president of the parliament of Paris), attached himself to the party of the latter during her temporary exile from the Court, assisted her with his advice and support, and finally secured her unbounded gratitude. As an equivalent for this unhappy selection of a chancellor, Francis, however, distinguished by his most marked affection and favour Anne, Seigneur de Montmorency, 2 and Philippe Chabot, Sire de 1 Antoine Duprat was born at Issoire, in Auvergne, in 1463. It was by his advice that Francis I. abolished the pragmatic sanction, and offered judicial appointments for sale, as well as imposing rents upon the Hotel de Ville. After the death of his wife he embraced the ecclesiastical profession, and became, first Archbishop of Sens, and subsequently a cardinal. He died in 1535. 2 Anne de Montmorency, one of the great captains of the six- teenth century, was born in 1493 a t Chantilly. He served his first campaign in Italy in 1512, and in 1521 defended the city of Mezieres conjointly with Bayard. His prowess at La Bicocca was 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 145 Brion, l two young nobles who subsequently made themselves famous by the services which they ren- dered to their country. In the month of May, Francis, probably some- what alarmed by the deficit which had already betrayed itself in the national exchequer, removed his court to Amboise, whither Madame d'Angouleme had preceded him, for the purpose of celebrating at that castle the marriage of Mademoiselle de Bour- bon, the sister of the connetable, with the Due de Lorraine ; and it is upon record that, on this occa- sion, being desirous to give some variety to the festivities, which were limited in their nature by the fact that, in a private residence, the etiquette of mourning for the late king did not permit either balls or masquerades, the young monarch caused a wild boar, which had been taken alive in the neigh- rewarded by a marshal's baton (1522) when he was already Captain- General of the Swiss troops. Taken prisoner at Pavia, and after- wards liberated, he obtained, in consideration of his eminent services, the rank of Grand-Master and the government of Langue- doc. The campaign of 1536 gained for him the sword of con- netable in 1538, and from that period to his disgrace in 1541 he was the soul of the councils of Francis I. Recalled by Henry II. in 1547, he conquered the Bolognese in 1550 ; caused his barony of Montmorency to be elevated to a duchy-peerage in 1551 ; and lost the battle of Saint-Quentin, where he was taken prisoner in 1557. Once more exiled from the Court in 1559, he was again recalled on the accession of Charles IX. in 1560 ; declared himself against the Calvinists, and gained the battle of Dreux in i 562 and that of St. Denis in 1567, where, however, he was mortally wounded, and expired two days afterwards. 1 Philippe de Chabot, Sire de Brion, the descendant of an illus- trious family of Poitou, was an Admiral of France, Governor of Bur- gundy and Normandy, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Pavia with Francis I. He commanded the Piedmontese army in 1535- Accused of malversation, he was disgraced, and condemned to a fine of seventy thousand crowns. He died in i 543. VOL. I. IO 146 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi bouring forest, to be turned loose in the great court- yard of the castle, having previously ordered every issue by which the savage denizen of the woods might escape to be carefully closed. This being, as it appeared, fully accomplished, the courtly com- pany then assembled at Amboise stationed them- selves at the windows, whence they amused them- selves by casting darts and other missiles at the enraged and bewildered animal. Highly excited by this novel pastime, bets ran high between the young nobles on their respective skill, and bright eyes watched anxiously the flight of every weapon as it was hurled from the respective casements. Suddenly, however, shrieks of terror echoed through the spacious apartments. The boar, tortured beyond endurance, had made a furious plunge at the door which opened upon the great stair- case ; had dashed it in, and was rapidly ascending the steps which led to the state rooms, and which were protected only by a hanging drapery of velvet, when the king, rushing from the apartment where the horror-stricken ladies were crowding about the queen, and thrusting aside the courtiers who endeavoured to impede his passage, threw himself full in the path of the maddened animal, and adroitly avoiding his first shock, stabbed him to the heart. The Duchesse d'Angouleme lived in sovereign style in the castle of Amboise. Like Anne de Bretagne, she retained a numerous household, and it was one more calculated than that of her pre- decessor to increase the attraction of a season of 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 147 display and festivity ; for, while her female attend- ants had been selected for their personal beauty, they were totally untrammelled by the wholesome and decent restraints which Anne had laid upon her ladies ; and already had the licentious tastes of the prince her son corrupted the little Court which she had collected about her, and which had become the focus of intrigue, gallantry, and imprudence. For a time, indeed, the pollution of the heart was not suf- fered publicly to pollute the lips ; but ere long even this tacit observance of propriety was disregarded ; and, as it is always easy for a woman to be witty when she lays aside her modesty, so the circle of Madame d'Angouleme soon became renowned as the centre of gay humour and sprightly fascination. And in the midst of this polluted Court lived on the meek and pious Queen Claude, surrounded, like her stepmother, with a band of high-born dames and damsels, but, unlike her, giving to those about her person an example of virtue and self-respect which was strictly imitated ; conscious of the irregularities of her husband for where is the royal personage long permitted to remain in happy ignorance of her own wrongs ? but un- complaining and patient ; a martyr to that keenest of all woman's suffering, a despised and neglected affection. The abandoned conduct of Louise de Savoie, far from vitiating the pure nature of her son's wife, tended only to strengthen her in her own better principles ; and, like the moon, which can look down upon pollution without sully- 148 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi ing the purity of its beams, so did the unhappy young queen witness on all sides the degrading progress of licentiousness without losing one virtue or imbibing one vice. Trained in the most delicate reserve by her mother, Anne de Bretagne, she could not condescend to pander to the dissipated tastes of Francis, who soon wearied of her circle, and found a fertile subject of sarcasm in the austere restraint to which she subjected the ladies of her suite, who, although they were permitted to share in the festivities of the Court, were compelled to be so guarded in their conduct and deportment that they were never sullied by its impurities. " Her circle," says Brantome, " was a paradise on earth, a school of honour and virtue, and the ornament of France, as foreigners were wont to declare when they were admitted within it ; for they ever met a courteous reception ; and when they were expected, it was the queen's express command that her ladies should attire themselves richly, and exert all their talents for the entertainment of her guests without absenting themselves in the pursuit of other amusements." It was at Amboise, on the 1 9th of August, that the queen gave birth to her eldest born, the Princesse Louise, whose sex, although doubtless a bitter disappointment to both parents, was not fated to affect the interests of the succession, as she died in her infancy. The first and greatest anxiety of Francis was the recovery of the Milanese, a design which had been delayed by the death of Louis XII. ; and, in order 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 149 to supply the necessary funds for this expedition, he was induced by the advice of his chancellor to renew all the taxes which his predecessor had abolished, and even to expose the offices of the crown for sale ; thus endeavouring to replenish his treasury by the most impolitic and arbitrary measures. His claim to the duchy of Milan was declared openly and boldly, as he considered his honour to be involved in its recovery. Louis XII. had based his presumed right upon the title of a female, and had transferred it to his daughter, the Princesse Claude, as a portion of her dowry ; but Francis, in order to secure it more effectually, caused his wife, as we have already stated, to make over to him her sovereignty of the duchy, and thus to enable him to advance a personal and legitimate claim to its possession. Charles of Austria, the sovereign of the Low Countries, at the instigation of M. de Chievres, his governor, who was anxious to preserve a peace with France upon which the prosperity of Flanders was so greatly dependent, as well as to secure to his royal pupil, who was by five years and a half the junior of the French king, the support of that monarch against Ferdinand the Catholic, his ma- ternal grandfather, had already sent ambassadors to congratulate him upon his accession, and to request his friendship, which was not only accorded, but coupled with the promise that Francis would accord to him the hand of his sister-in-law, the Princesse Renee. Her extreme youth, however, 150 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi for at this period she had only just attained her sixth year, rendering the immediate celebration of the marriage inexpedient, it was stipulated between the two princes that the ceremony should be deferred until she should have reached the age of twelve years, when she was to become the wife of Charles, with a dowry of two hundred thousand silver crowns in money, and the duchy of Berri, estimated at four hundred thousand more. A treaty of alliance, both offensive and defensive, was also signed by the con- tracting parties ; and Charles of Austria, although numbering Ferdinand among his allies, pledged him- self not to assist him in any attempt which he might make against France, if he did not, within the space of six months, terminate the misunderstanding exist- ing between the two Courts on the subject of the kingdom of Navarre. This treaty was executed at Paris on the 24th of March. The ostensible object of the Flemish envoys had been merely to do homage for the counties of Artois and Flanders, which were held by the archduke of the crown of France ; and it was so far fortunate for Francis that they should have selected that precise period to visit his Court, as it rendered Charles unable to unite with the em- peror in any designs which might have proved inimical to the French interest. The mission was entrusted to Count Henry of Nassau, 1 who arrived 1 Henry, Count of Nassau, was the representative of the cele- brated ducal family of that name, which traced its origin from Robert, Count of Larenburg and Nassau, in 1124. His descend- ants, Waleran and Otho, divided their ancestral patrimony in 1255. 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 151 at Paris splendidly attended, having both nobles and prelates in his train, and it was through his agency that the archduke, who had already been affianced to half the princesses of the civilized world, was once more engaged in the matrimonial com- pact, destined, like so many others, never to be ratified. Moreover, it is probable that Francis himself never contemplated its completion, while it is certain that the ministers of the young prince had been urged to effect a friendly alliance with France from their suspicion that Ferdinand the Catholic purposed to bequeath the crown of Spain to his other grandson and namesake, who had been educated in that country ; while Charles, who had passed his youth between Germany and the Low Countries, was comparatively unknown to him. Nor was the errand of M. de Nassau destined to be a bootless one for himself, it being secretly stipulated that he should receive the hand of Claudine de Challon, sister of the Prince of Orange, who had been educated with the young Queen of France ; and the marriage was accordingly cele- brated with a magnificence worthy of so renowned a Court. The state of Europe at this time offered nothing From the former are descended the present reigning Dukes of Nas- sau ; while the latter founded the branch of Nassau-Dillenbourg, now on the throne of Holland. By the marriage of Henry of Nas- sau, son of Count William III., with Claudine de Challon, Princess of Orange, that principality devolved upon their son Rene, who, dying without issue, bequeathed it to William the Taciturn, his cousin, who thus became the ancestor of the Princes of Orange- Nassau, whose descendants occupy the thrones of England and Holland. 152 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi sufficiently alarming to induce the young king to abandon his design upon the Milanese. Spain was for the moment tranquil. The death of the Arch- duke Philip had restored to Ferdinand his dominion over Castile ; while his title to Naples, Roussillon, and Cerdagne was not sufficiently valid to enable him to take the initiative with safety in any aggres- sive measures towards France. Germany was also at peace, and so divided and subdivided into petty and independent states, as well as kept in check by the moral and commercial strength of her free towns and the impotence of her emperor, who, although the head of the Germanic body, by which, in the national diets, the laws were passed, was a mere shadow-king, despised both at home and abroad, that she was in no condition to volunteer a war of which the issue, under such circumstances, must at the best be doubtful ; while England, who had upon Flodden Field delivered herself from her most threatening and mischievous enemy, had already gained sufficient experience of the bad faith and perfidious vacillation of both Maximilian and Ferdinand to induce Henry VIII. to shun any alliance with either against the interests of Francis, who, in the late negotiations between them, had won his goodwill alike by his frankness and courtesy. Thus the Pope and the Swiss were the only for- midable enemies against whom the young monarch of France could be called upon to contend ; and the arrival of the several embassies to compliment him FRANCIS THE FIRST 153 upon his accession afforded a favourable opportunity for consolidating his friendly relations with such of the different powers as were already on terms of amity with France ; and also of ascertaining, and providing against, the possible hostility of those whose alliance was still doubtful. To the English envoys he suggested that the treaty of peace concluded -between Louis XII. and Henry VIII. should be renewed, and that Scotland, did the necessity arise, should be included in the negotiations ; that the most perfect liberty of com- merce should be assured to both nations ; that no vessel of war intended to threaten either should be admitted into any of the ports of the other kingdom ; and that they should mutually respect each other's allies ; but that Milan and Genoa, which Francis was about to invade, should be exempted from this arrangement. To all these conditions Henry ac- ceded at once, with the exception of that which concerned Scotland, the jealousy of the English monarch being awakened by the circumstance that the Due d'Aubigny, 1 the cousin of the late King of Scots, and the subject of Francis, had been invited thither as regent. He accordingly called upon the young sovereign to pledge himself that D'Aubigny, who was well known to be inimical to the English interests, should abandon his intention of visiting Scotland ; and declared that should this concession i Robert d'Aubigny was of Scotch extraction, and of the family of Stuart, but was by birth a French subject, and commanded the com- pany of Scotch gendarmes who were perpetually about the person of the monarch, and who possessed extraordinary privileges. 154 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi be made, he would at once affix his signature to the treaty. Francis, however, would not consent to withdraw his plighted word to the Scotch ; but offered himself as surety for the loyalty of his general, and agreed that if in the space of three months D'Aubigny did not succeed in reconciling the adverse factions he should be recalled. Henry accepted the offered terms, and the treaty was concluded in the month of April. The Swiss cantons, excepting only the Grisons, still maintained their hostile position towards France. During the reigns of Louis XI. and Charles VIII. they had considered themselves as an integral por- tion of the French armies, and had conduced, in no trifling degree, to their success in the field. Even under Louis XII. they had done good service, and proved their efficiency ; while the benefit was ren- dered mutual by the fact that the poverty of their over-populated country was lessened by the escape- valve thus afforded, and that support and employment were obtained for considerable bodies of men who must otherwise have diminished its already scanty resources. Conscious of their importance in Euro- pean warfare from their high state of discipline and undaunted courage, the Switzers had, however, by presuming upon these advantages, excited the indig- nation of Louis XII., who, anxious to emancipate himself from pretensions and demands which ulti- mately exceeded all due bounds, declined their further assistance, and substituted for them a large body of German infantry, or lansquenets, who, while 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 155 they were utterly free from the insolence and way- wardness of the Swiss, were from the first their equals in courage, and soon worthily rivalled them both in order and discipline. This was at once an affront to the honour and an injury to the interests of the mountaineers, which they vowed never to forgive. They forgot that even if they had twice assisted the French king to subdue Italy they had twice also, in order to gratify their own dislike, lent their aid to divest him of his conquest ; and although they had amply revenged their supposed wrongs both at Novara and Dijon, they bore in remembrance only the refusal of Louis to ratify the treaty of La Tre- mouille, and suffered the relentless Cardinal of Sion to keep them in a state of perpetual and unyielding animosity to France. Thus the attitude which they assumed could not be utterly disregarded by Francis, although, with the chivalrous feeling natural to him, he looked upon them with contempt as mere mercen- aries, and did not suffer their demonstrations to interfere with his darling project ; although he deemed it expedient to make an effort to regain their alliance, and accordingly sent the Sire de Jamets, one of the sons of Robert de la Mark, as his envoy to the diet of the cantons, in order that an accom- modation might if possible be effected with them, and the differences adjusted which had arisen out of the non-fulfilment of the treaty of Dijon. This conces- sion was, however, far from conducing to the object which he had in view. Rendered insolent by their recent successes, the Swiss ascribed to fear an over- 156 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi ture which had been dictated simply by policy, and arrogantly refused to admit the envoy of France ; threatening, moreover, that if the conditions of that treaty were not immediately performed to the letter, they would forthwith invade the provinces of Bur- gundy and Dauphiny. Francis treated the insolent menace with con- tempt, and contented himself with marching a strong body both of native and foreign troops towards Burgundy, ostensibly to defend that province from aggression, but actually to bring them nearer to the point where they were to be employed. Consequently this movement, ominous as it was, created no alarm either in the Pope or the Italian states which were in his interest. They looked upon the French king as a mere youth, devoted to pleasure, who would not hazard an encounter with the papal forces ; nor could even the representations of Fer- dinand induce them to alter their opinion. In vain did he represent that Francis had suggested a treaty with himself and Maximilian, which had failed to take effect owing to the refusal of the young monarch to forego his claim upon the Milanese, and that he had already confirmed that which Louis XII. had for- merly made with the Venetians. Leo. X. disregarded the caution, and even declined to join a league which had been secretly formed between Maximilian, Fer- dinand, the Swiss, and the Duke of Milan, for the defence of Italy ; declaring that he was urged by his holy office to promote peace rather than war, and 15 IS FRANCIS THE FIRST 157 would not provoke, or even appear to anticipate, hostilities from any European power. In confirming the treaty with the Venetians to which Ferdinand had alluded, Francis had secretly induced Ottavio Fregosa, the Doge of Genoa, to give a pledge that he would abdicate, and place himself under the protection of France, whenever the pre- sence of a French army sufficiently strong to protect him from the indignation of the other powers should be assembled in Italy ; a promise which the young king hailed with joy, as Genoa commanded the pas- sage into the Milanese by sea, and was consequently of great importance to his design. This done, he pursued his negotiation with the Pope, who at length consented to remain neuter ; but who, at the same time, entered into an engagement with Maximilian, Ferdinand, and the Swiss, to assist them in protect- ing the duchy of Milan. In the meantime Francis had continued quietly but diligently to strengthen the forces requisite for his intended expedition. While he himself left Paris and took up his abode at Amboise, his army was gradually advancing to the frontiers of Dauphiny. It consisted of a band of ten thousand lansquenets, raised in Germany by the Sire de Sedan and the Duke of Suffolk ; six thousand foot, furnished by the Due de Gueldres ; and a like number levied in Gas- cony and Languedoc by Pietro da Navarro, whom the ingratitude and bad faith of the King of Spain had driven into the service of France ; four thousand volunteers ; two thousand five hundred lances ; and a 158 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vi strong body of artillery, which had already been sent forward to Lyons, composing altogether an army of between thirty and forty thousand men. While this force was unostentatiously in progress of organization, Francis who, however little he deprecated the hostility of the Pope, whom he knew to be more occupied in the aggrandisement of his family than in that of his states, thought it wise to conciliate his alliance sent an embassy to Rome to open a negotiation between them, which he entrusted to Guillaume Budee, 1 the contemporary and friend of Erasmus, and one of the most accomplished scholars in France. Already aware of the particular ambition of Leo X., who was anxious to secure the supreme rule in Florence to his nephew Lorenzo de Medici, and to his brother Giulio a principality compounded of the states which his predecessor Julius II. had wrested from the Duke of Ferrara and the Milanese, Budee offered on the part of his royal master to assist his holiness in effecting the marriage between his brother Giulio and Marguerite de Savoie, the aunt of the French king, which had already been mooted, and which must have tended to convert the two sove- reigns into firm allies ; but the Pope could not wil- lingly resign his own darling scheme, and amiable and learned as he was, and fully competent to appre- 1 Guillaume Bude"e was born in Paris in 1467, and distinguished himself by his extraordinary attainments. He was Master of the Court of Requests, and librarian to the king, and was remarkable for his proficiency in the classics and archaeology. His most cele- brated work among students is his treatise De Asse et partibus efus, which was published at Venice in 1522. It was at his instigation that Francis I. founded the College of France. He died in 1540. FRANCIS THE FIRST 159 ciate the compliment paid to him by Francis in the person and through the medium of so celebrated an ambassador, he was nevertheless possessed of all the craft peculiar to his nation, and hesitated between this amicable proposition and that of Maximilian and Ferdinand, which he believed would be ultimately more advantageous to his house. He consequently amused Budee for a time with objections, exactions, and mystifications so obviously unmeaning and insin- cere, that the frank and straightforward scholar at length resolved to request his recall ; alleging that he was unable to cope with the diplomatic cunning of the sovereign - pontiff, and humbly praying his majesty to release him from a responsibility to which he was unequal. He was, however, instructed to remain at the papal Court, and to continue the negotiation, whatever might be its probable issue, in order to divert the attention of Leo from an intrigue in which his interests were involved, and which was then pending. CHAPTER VII 1515 Francis organizes his army The queen's farewell reception Magnificence of Bourbon Emotion of Marguerite de Valois Jealousy of Bonnivet- Their parting Indiscretion of Bonnivet Difficulty in replenishing the treasury Discontent of the Parliament Madame d'Angouleme ap- pointed regent Character of Louise de Savoie Amount of the French army Its distribution Difficulty in passing the Alps Perseverance of the troops The vanguard enters Italy Surprise of Prosper Colonna His capture Delivers his sword to Bayard Alessandria and Tortona taken by the French Alarm of the Pope Retreat of the Swiss Francis endeavours to conciliate them, but fails through the agency of the Car- dinal of Sion The Swiss troops attempt to seize the public chest at Buffaloro Their leaders apprise Lautrec of the project They evacuate Italy Bayard solicits the king's permission to attack the enemy, but is refused Francis marches upon Turin He is joined by the Due de Gueldres The French headquarters are established at Marignano Car- dona refuses to pass the Po D'Alviano reaches Lodi Indignation of Francis against the Swiss The Cardinal of Sion harangues the mer- cenary troops Fleuranges alarms the garrison The Swiss troops march upon Marignano The king is apprised of their approach Battle of Marignano Francis narrowly escapes capture Bayard is unhorsed, but effects his retreat The battle-couch of Francis The attack is resumed at daybreak The Swiss troops retreat, and return to Milan, whence they proceed homeward, pursued by D'Alviano The price of victory Francis receives knighthood on the field at the hands of Bayard, and confers it upon Fleuranges The French march to Milan The Swiss revolt against the Cardinal of Sion, who secures his safety by flight Reception of the French king by the citizens of Milan Maximilian Sforza surrenders to Francis Generosity of the conqueror The Milanese take the oath of allegiance to France. MEANWHILE the warlike preparations of Francis were completed, and he formally assisted the queen and his mother to receive at Amboise the parting compliments of his generals in the presence of the whole Court. The queen had a public reception 1515 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I 161 on the day upon which the Connetable Due de Bourbon, who was to take the chief command of the invading army, arrived at the castle. His ad- vent had been already announced, and it chanced that, either by accident or design, the Duchesse d'Alen9on, who had accompanied her husband to the castle, there to remain while he was absent with the king in Italy, was standing in the deep bay of a window in the apartment of her royal sister-in-law, conversing with some of the courtiers, at the moment when the connetable galloped into the courtyard, attended by an escort of gentlemen and pages very richly attired. At the noise made by the horsemen every eye was turned upon the brilliant spectacle which thus suddenly presented itself, and was instantly riveted on the person of Bourbon himself. He was attired for war, and wore over his mail a sash of cloth of silver ; a diamond-studded poniard flashed in his belt beside the golden pommel of his sword, and his casque was surmounted by a plume of white and crimson feathers. In such a costume the fine person of the duke was necessarily more than usually striking, and the beautiful sister of Francis, after gazing for an instant, like those around her, upon the majestic and noble figure of the only man whom she had ever loved, turned away with a shuddering sigh, and involuntarily glanced with a look of superb contempt upon the insignificant prince to whom the policy of her uncle Louis XII. had given her unwilling hand. VOL. i 1 1 162 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn Neither the sigh, the shudder, nor the glance, brief as each had been in its duration, had, despite all her caution, passed unobserved. Among those immediately about her was Bonnivet, who had neither forgiven nor forgotten the past, and whose jealousy of Bourbon continued as lively as ever, although the marriage of the duchess had rendered the suit of both alike hopeless. A bitter whisper reached her ear. " Monsieur le Connetable," said the voice, " whose haughty spirit has become a proverb throughout the country, might to-day be pardoned his presumption were he to learn the effect produced by his arrival." Marguerite blushed deeply, frowned haughtily, and turned away ; but the arrow had stricken home, and she could not encounter the mocking eye that she felt was turned upon her. By this time the connetable had ascended the great staircase, had been announced by the usher on duty, and had entered the royal apartment, still attended by the gentlemen of his suite, superbly attired in vests of velvet heavily embroidered with gold. It was now the king's turn to frown. It was true that, by his marriage with the daughter of Anne de France, Bourbon had become the most wealthy as well as the most powerful noble of the kingdom, but Francis could not endure that his own magnifi- cence should be eclipsed by that of a subject, and his reception was more chilling than the occasion seemed to warrant. The duke did not, however, appear to remark the discomposure of his sovereign, M AM ( AIR IS IF BIS VAIL H S ENGRAVED B^ . N, FROM A. PORTRAIT PD BUSHED IX STRES FRAJJCAIS DU 16 SIECU:' i5 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 163 and the warm greeting of Madame d'Angouleme, who was by no means insensible to the attractions of her new guest, was returned with grace and composure. Nor did even the stately coldness of the Duchesse d'Alencon bring a shade upon the brow of Charles de Bourbon. He could appreciate her real feelings, for he judged them by his own ; and as he raised her fingers respectfully to his lips he did not detain them there a moment. Bonnivet, however, who had watched both parties closely, was not to be deceived. He had marked the slight flush which mounted to the brow of the duke, and the deadly paleness that had overspread the features of the princess ; and as, after this act of homage, Bourbon moved away to join the circle which was formed about the king, he turned to the Comte de Saint Valier, the captain of the royal guard, and, in a tone of mysterious confidence, bade him remark the agitation of Madame d'Angouleme and the constraint of her daughter. "It is sufficiently evident," was the reply; "but why do you draw my attention to the circumstance ?" " To initiate you into a state secret. The mother and the daughter have the same passion in their hearts." The quick-sighted Bonnivet was correct in his conjecture, but he was unable to discriminate the very different nature of the passion which Bourbon had awakened in the breasts of those two royal ladies. The love of Louise de Savoie for the gal- lant and handsome prince was, like all her other 164 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn attachments, alike sensual and selfish, while that of Marguerite was an affection compounded of memory, regret, and self-pity, without one stain of earth. The duke had been the first love of her girlhood, and had peopled the past with associa- tions of happiness and hope, both of which had proved fallacious, but were still dear. Whatever may have been the errors of Marguerite, it is cer- tain that she loved Bourbon well and worthily, with that womanly affection which forgets self in the object beloved, and can endure in all its intensity alike through time and trial. In the utterance of her murmured farewell to the brilliant connetable the Duchesse d'Alen9on had exhausted all her regrets, and it was with courteous composure that she afterwards received the parting compliments of Francois, Due de Chatellerault, his brother ; the Marechals de la Palice and Trivulzio ; the Dues de Lorraine, Vendome, Gueldres, and D'Aubigny ; the Bastard of Savoy, the king's uncle, 1 1 Rend, the Bastard of Savoy, was the son of Philip of Savoy and Bona da Romagnano, a Piedmontese lady, and the brother of Charles III. and Madame d'Angouleme, and had been legitimized by the Duke Philibert, who married Margaret of Austria, the daughter of the emperor. Maximilian having, however, refused to ratify his legitimization, Rene accused Margaret of having privately instigated him to do so, and, indignant at the affront put upon him, abandoned the Court of Savoy, and withdrew to the castle of Amboise, where he resided with his sister, Madame d'Angouleme, and obtained great influence over Francis I. Whether his suspicion were well or ill founded, it is certain that the hatred which Margaret felt for him caused as much injury to Savoy as that of Madame d'Angouleme against the Connetable de Bourbon occasioned to France. " Through Margaret of Austria, the wife of the duke," says the President Renault, " commenced that hatred which has perpetuated itself between the houses of France and Austria." The fact is, however, 1 5 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 165. the veteran Louis de Breze, Grand Senechal of Normandy ; the Comtes de Saint-Pol and Guise ; La Tremouille, and his son the Prince de Talmont, Imbercourt, Teligny, Beam, Sancerre, Orval, Lau- trec, Bayard, and, in fine, all that was noble and chivalrous in France. The necessity of raising money to meet the exigencies of so formidable an undertaking as the recovery of the Milanese was the first difficulty to which Francis had been exposed since his accession to the throne, and it is probable that, at so im- portant a moment, he regretted the immense sums which had been wasted upon mere courtly magnifi- cence ; but Duprat, equal to every emergency, at once suggested the dangerous and impolitic mea- sure of increasing the number of judicial offices for sale. The young king, eager to carry out his plans, thoughtlessly welcomed the suggestion, and a new chamber of parliament was created, consisting of twenty councillors, all of whom purchased their places ; while the provincial courts throughout the kingdom were augmented in the same manner. doubtful, for the feelings of the emperor her father had been for years quite as hostile as her own ; and it is asserted that he every day nourished them by a perusal of what he entitled his red book, which was simply a register of all the real or imaginary wrongs to which he had been subjected by France, and which yet remained un- avenged, not the least being the humiliation to which his daughter had been exposed when her hand was refused by Charles VIII. Rene strikingly resembled his father. His form was athletic, and his countenance fine and commanding. He was a brave soldier, but both haughty and vindictive. Francis I., his nephew, made him Comptroller of the Household. He was taken prisoner at Pavia, and died of his wounds. From him is derived the family of Villars. 1 66 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn For a time the parliament of Paris refused to sanc- tion so glaring an innovation upon their rights, and declined to register the royal edict ; nor was it without considerable and avowed reluctance that they were ultimately induced to do so, the measure being regarded as one of great injustice and im- policy, tending to diminish the national confidence in the monarch, and to excite distrust towards the minister by whom it had been proposed. Their objections were, however, disregarded, and Francis, satisfied that he was about to place himself at the head of the finest army which had ever been raised in France, made instant prepara- tions for crossing the Alps. The number and resources of his enemies, concentrated by the powerful confederacy formed against him by Maxi- milian, Leo X., and the Swiss, served only to stimulate his ardour; and on the i5th of July, at Lyons, he issued an ordinance, by which he ap- pointed his mother, the Duchesse d'Angouleme, regent of the kingdom during his absence. "Con- sidering," thus ran the document, "that it will be necessary to leave in our kingdom some personage representing ourselves, whose affection towards our person is undoubted, and to whom our subjects may have recourse as to ourselves ; considering also that all the princes and nobles of our blood accompany us on our enterprise, we have decided to confide this charge and power to our very dear and well- beloved lady and mother, the Duchesse d'Angou- leme and d'Anjou, as to the person in whom we FRAA T CIS THE FIRST 167 have full and perfect confidence, and of whom we know, for a surety, that she will wisely and virtu- ously acquit herself of the same." In how far Francis could answer to his conscience for such a declaration it is not for us to decide. Certain it is that the overweening indulgence and undiminished influence of his mother may have blinded him in a great degree to her defects, but it is no less true that he possessed sufficient shrewd- ness and discrimination to be aware that, with so vehement and vindictive a character as hers, there was not that perfect assurance for his subjects which his words were intended to convey. Although, upon the accession of her son, she had reached her fortieth year, Louise de Savoie was still one of the handsomest women at Court. The pecu- liar charms of her face and person were scarcely diminished by time, and she possessed, physically, all the elements of popularity. She was, moreover, eminently qualified for government in so far that she did not lack courage, either personal or political, and was gifted with penetration, decision, and a self- possession which no adversity could shake ; but these essential qualities were counterbalanced by an ambition and thirst of power absolutely insati- able, while her better reason was frequently over- whelmed by the impetuous torrent of her passions ; a circumstance which sullied her administration with all the faults and weaknesses of her sex. Greedy of admiration, and vain to an inordinate excess, she was at the same time a bitter enemy, implacable in 168 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn her resentments, impatient of control, actuated by the most malign jealousy, and covetous of the national treasures to such an extent that the wisest projects were disconcerted, and the most important enterprises baffled, by her insatiate rapacity. The regency being thus definitely arranged, Francis turned his whole attention to the organ- ization and distribution of his army, which, after the new levies were completed, consisted of two thousand five hundred men-at-arms ; amounting, in fact, from the peculiar constitution of the "lances," as they were then termed, to a force of nearly fifteen thousand horse, each member of the compagnies d'ordonnance, or regular cavalry, having in imme- diate attendance upon him three archers, an esquire, or knife-bearer, whose name was derived from a short dirk which he carried in his belt, and a page, the whole of whom were mounted ; and thus fifteen hundred "lances," fully equipped, comprised a strength of nine thousand horse ; while in addition to this conventional suite, they were generally ac- companied by a strong body of volunteers, similarly followed, who served without remuneration of any- kind, and who were invariably individuals of good family, like the gendarmes themselves, and fre- quently entered the regular army after having gone through a campaign upon their own resources. The command of the vanguard was confided to the Connetable de Bourbon, and in it were to serve his brother the Due de Chatellerault, La Palice, Trivulzio, Talmond, Bonnivet, Imbercourt, and 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 169 Teligny ; while Pietro da Navarro, with his Gas- cons, Basques, and pioneers, was also attached to this division of the army. The rear-guard was committed to the Due d'Alen9on, the husband of Marguerite, and the king himself commanded the main body or " battle," having about his person the Dues de Vendome and Lorraine, the Seigneur d'Aubigny, the Bastard of Savoy, the Sire d'Orval, La Tremouille, Lautrec, recently advanced to the rank of Marshal of France, Bayard, newly ap- pointed Lieutenant-general of Dauphiny, the Due de Gueldres, and Claude de Guise. But when this powerful army, amounting in the aggregate to upwards of forty thousand men, with a strong train of artillery, was completed, the greatest difficulty was yet to be surmounted by accomplishing its passage into Italy. The month of August had arrived, the snow had dissolved in the mountain gorges, it is true, but some unforeseen circumstance might impede the march, and subject the troops to a scarcity of provisions, while it was moreover imperative that they should penetrate into the Milanese before the rainy season set in. " A safe but circuitous route presented itself," says Bacon, " by which one part of the army might penetrate to Savona, and the other might march by the county of Tende towards Montferrat ; but the delay which would ensue rendered this plan ineligible." The passes between Mont Cenis and Mont Genievre were so strongly guarded by the Swiss as to render it highly inexpedient to expose the army to the i;o THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn inevitable losses which must accrue from any attempt to force them, and thus weaken its re- sources ; and consequently great doubt existed as to the practicability of making good the passage of horsemen and ordnance across the Alps. The difficulty was, however, happily overcome by the proposal of a Piedmontese peasant, a vassal of the Comte de Moreto, the cousin of Bayard whose perfect acquaintance with all the intricacies of the mountain chain rendered him an admirable guide- to point out a path which was comparatively un- known, and of which the Swiss had evinced their entire ignorance by leaving it totally unprotected. For a time the count treated the suggestion with indifference, declaring that it was impassable for a large army ; but the pertinacity of his follower at length induced him to explore it, when his doubts were shaken, and having waited upon the Duke of Savoy to solicit his permission to profit by the dis- covery, he immediately started for Lyons to com- municate to the king the result of his investigation. The proposition was submitted to the council, who, after some deliberation, decided that if, after a careful survey of the pass, the attempt appeared practicable, it should be made ; and as a prelim- inary measure, the Sire de Lautrec and Pietro da Navarro, who were esteemed the most competent judges upon such a subject the one from his fond- ness for adventure and boldness in confronting difficulties, and the other from his mechanical skill and knowledge were despatched to examine the 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 171 pass, and to report upon its practicability. They were accompanied by the Marechals Trivulzio and La Palice, the Comte de Moreto, and his vassal ; and the whole extent of the formidable pass was strictly surveyed, when it was ascertained that the difficulties, although great and various, were never- theless not insurmountable if effectual measures were taken ; and, upon the delivery of this opinion, it was at once resolved that the attempt should be made. Detachments were marched towards Mont Cenis and Mont Genievre to distract and mislead the attention of the enemy, and, all being in readiness, the vanguard of the French army forded the Du- rance, and, followed by the remainder of the troops, entered the mountain chain on the Guillestre side, and commenced their gigantic undertaking. Never had the zeal and skill of Navarro availed so much. Under his directions roads were levelled, ravines filled up, trees felled, and rocks rent from their bases ; bridges thrown over torrents, and the cannon dragged by hand across precipitous heights and along narrow ledges, where it was impossible to entrust their safety to other than human strength. No one who has not traversed the Alps not by the roads now formed, but among the wild and rugged ravines known only to the mountain hunter, who even to this day reveals them grudgingly to the inquisitive and adventurous traveller can for an instant comprehend, and far less appreciate, all the labour, danger, and uncertainty of such an enter- i?2 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn prise as that now undertaken by the French army. As the troops advanced upon their perilous way their difficulties increased. Nature, in all the majesty of her most formidable horrors, appeared to frown upon their audacity. The roaring of the winds that growled through the deep and dark gullies by which they were surrounded ; the hollow crashing of the tools with which the pioneers seemed to be cleaving into the very heart of the rocky mountains ; the avalanches which, disturbed by this unwonted intrusion, came thundering down with an impetuosity that mocked the most steady gaze ; the cataracts which leapt from ledge to ledge until they poured their vexed and boiling tide into some unseen depth below ; the perpetual loss of life which was occasioned by the sudden dislodgment of loosened masses that rolled into the abyss, and ultimately fell with a crash which sounded like the ruin of a world all these impediments failed to discourage the ardour of the French soldiery. Con- quest was before them, and they toiled on uncom- plainingly until the mighty task was accomplished, and they descended safely into the valley of Stura, near the town of Coni, in the territories of the Marquis de Saluzzo, a firm ally of the French crown, with all their heavy cavalry, and seventy pieces of ordnance. All the estates of Saluzzo had been invaded by the enemy, and all his strongholds taken, save the castle of Ravello, which, owing to its extreme strength, had been enabled to make an effectual resistance ; while the other fortresses, i 5 is FRANCIS THE FIRST 173 whence his troops had been driven out, were oc- cupied by Swiss garrisons, and his lands harried and laid waste by the forces of Prosper Colonna, 1 an able and experienced general, who commanded the army of the coalition, and to whom the Duke of Milan had entrusted the passes of the Alps, which were defended by a force of twenty thousand Swiss. Courageous as he was, however, the personal bravery of Colonna was not more conspicuous than his arrogance ; and while he awaited the approach of the French army he affected the utmost con- tempt for the enemy against which he was to contend, even carrying his presumption so far as to appropriate to himself the county of Carmagnola, after having arranged with the Swiss to dispossess the Duke of Savoy of his dominions, as the forfeit which he was to pay for aiding and abetting his nephew, Francis I., in his designs on the Milanese. The vanguard of the French army had scarcely descended into the plain of Stura when they were informed that Colonna had established his quarters in the fortress of Carmagnola, where, confident in his security, he had even disdained to take such precau- tions as a better policy would have prompted. The spirit of French chivalry was at once aroused by this intelligence, and La Palice, D'Aubigny, Imbercourt, Bayard, Montmorency, and Bussy d'Amboise re- solved to make an attempt to surprise him in his 1 Prosper Colonna was the son of Antonio, Prince of Salerno. He defeated the French army at the battle of La Bicocca, in 1522, and died in the course of the succeeding year, with the reputation of an able general. 174 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn stronghold. They accordingly advanced towards Carmagnola at the head of a body of men-at-arms carefully selected for the purpose ; and while the Roman general was watching the progress of the main army over a pass which he considered as the most hazardous that could be contemplated, he never anticipated that a little band of adventurers would make their way by that of Rocca Sparviera, which he believed to be utterly impracticable for cavalry. Such an attempt was, however, made, and success- fully accomplished ; but on their arrival at Carma- gnola the courageous party found that Colonna was no longer there, but was moving towards Villa Franca, a small town upon the Po, where he fre- quently halted, and, as they ascertained, was that day to dine before he proceeded to Pignerol, where he had convened a council of war. Bayard earnestly proposed an immediate pursuit, which, being acceded to by his companions, the Comte de Moreto was despatched, disguised as a peasant, to hang upon the skirts of the enemy's army, consisting of three hundred mounted gen- darmes and some troops of light horse, and to ascer- tain the order of their march. Upon his return he confirmed the intelligence they had already received, that, in full assurance of his security, Colonna was advancing leisurely towards his destination, rather like a private traveller riding through his own terri- tories than a general who was prepared to encounter an enemy. Once assured of this fact, their arrangements 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 175 were speedily completed, and they were forthwith in movement. Imbercourt led the van with a hundred archers, supported by Bayard with a like number of picked men, about an arrow's flight behind, while the rear was closed by La Palice and D'Aubigny. But although they advanced silently and with great precaution, they did not succeed in escaping observation, and Colonna was soon apprised by one of his spies that a French force was tracking his footsteps. He, however, treated the matter lightly, and being at the moment on his way to attend mass, he merely remarked that it could only be Bayard and his band, unless the remainder of the army had flown over the mountains, and contented himself as he was entering the church by despatch- ing a second emissary to ascertain the real strength of the advancing party. On the conclusion of the service he was informed by his messenger that he was pursued by more than a thousand French cavalry ; but, although startled by the intelligence, he was still doubtful of the fact, declaring that the man's fears had exaggerated the number of the enemy, but that he would, neverthe- less, ere long repay Bayard for the inconvenience to which he was subjected through his agency by taking him like a pigeon in a trap ; and as he seated himself at table he impatiently desired one of his gentlemen to put himself at the head of a score of horse, to ride back a mile or two on the road to Carmagnola, and to inform him if any danger of a surprise really existed. i?6 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn He then quietly commenced his repast, but he was not long destined to retain his arrogant tran- quillity, for the meal was not concluded when a cry of alarm became audible, and shouts of " France ! France ! " echoed through the narrow streets of the little town. The reconnoitring party had come in sight of the French troops long ere they anticipated an encounter, for which they were totally unprepared, and on witnessing their numbers they at once turned and fled. Imbercourt, however, followed them up so closely that he entered the gates of Villa Franca simultaneously with the fugitives, and before the sentinels, who were fearful of injuring their own comrades, had time to fire a shot. The post once gained, he retained it, although wounded in the face, until he was joined by Bayard ; nor could all the after attempts of the garrison enable them to retake it. For a brief time the conflict was a severe one, but the arrival of La Palice and D'Aubigny soon rendered all further opposition on the part of the papal forces utterly hopeless. Both the gates were secured to prevent their egress, and only two Alba- nian soldiers escaped over the plank adjoining the drawbridge, who fled wildly towards a strong body of Swiss, encamped within three miles of Villa Franca, with intelligence of the disaster. Surprised, but not subdued, Colonna made a futile attempt to defend himself ; but the house which he occupied was surrounded, his garrison made prisoners, and all escape rendered impractic- 15 1 5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 177 able. In this strait he demanded to be informed who were his captors, and he no sooner ascertained their names than, with all the vehemence of his nation, he abandoned himself to the most violent grief, cursing his fate, and lamenting that God had not permitted him to meet them in the field. Bayard received the sword which he at length reluctantly and sullenly resigned with a courtesy and respect which, in a calmer moment, must have gone far to console him ; but he could remember only the mortification to which he had subjected himself by his own want of caution, and continually exclaimed : " Would to God that I had met them in a fair field, even if I had perished there ! " Many other prisoners of rank were taken, and among the rest the Count de Policastro, Piero Mor- gante, and Carolo Cadamosto, all good and approved soldiers ; while the booty exceeded even the wildest hopes of the victors. " Had it been well managed, " says the Loyal Servant, in the true chapman spirit of the age, when it is certain that all ranks of the army thought nearly as much of the ransom to be obtained for their prisoners as of the glory of defeating them, " it might have been made to yield a hundred and fifty thousand ducats." Suffice it, that by the cap- ture of Villa Franca the French secured, besides other spoils, seven hundred horses, of which about four hundred were of pure Andalusian race ; while Colonna himself lost on that disastrous day more than fifty thousand ducats in gold and silver plate, jewels, and money. VOL. I I 2 1 78 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn Nor was this the only success with which the campaign opened for Francis. A body of troops had been despatched to Genoa by sea, under the command of Aimar de Prie, the grand-master of the crossbow-men, and intelligence was received a short time subsequently to the capture of Colonna that they had reached their destination in safety, had been warmly welcomed, and that their strength had been augmented by a force of four thousand Genoese who had enlisted under their banner, and with whose co-operation they had surprised and taken Ales- sandria and Tortona, and possessed themselves of the whole of the Milanese on that bank of the Po. The discomfiture of Colonna had, meanwhile, disconcerted all the measures taken by the allied sovereigns to secure the defence of Lombardy. The Pope hastily issued an order to his nephew, Lorenzo de Medici, to halt the pontifical army within the frontiers of Modena, and at the same time de- spatched a trusty messenger to assure the French king of his neutrality ; while Raymond de Cardona, who had concentrated the Spanish forces in the neighbourhood of Verona, awaited in vain the money which had been promised to him by Ferdi- nand and the German troops with which he was to have been reinforced by Maximilian ; and meanwhile, closely pressed by the Venetian general, who occupied the Polesino de Rovego, he could neither advance nor retreat. Thus the Swiss found themselves, at a most critical moment, abandoned by their allies. More- 15 1 5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 179 over, their arrears of pay, amounting to forty thousand florins, had not reached them ; they con- sidered themselves disgraced by the success of the French army in crossing the Alps, which they had undertaken to prevent, and were exasperated by the contempt with which they were regarded by the better disciplined and more soldier-like forces of a nation towards which their hatred was unmitigated. But the wound which rankled the most deeply in the hearts of the mercenary mountaineers was the non- arrival of their salary, which so enraged them against both the Pope and the Viceroy of Naples that they robbed the chest of the pontifical commissary, and retired in disorder to Verceil. At this precise moment the French generals were pressing forward to Milan, without any other impedi- ment to their entrance into that city than these same Switzers who, at Galerata, on the road from Milan to the Simplon, appeared to be about to abandon the defence of Italy. Anxious to effect a reconcilia- tion with these mischievous antagonists, Francis, who had never entertained towards them the same dislike which had been manifested by his predecessor, and who was aware that several of their most esteemed leaders were in his interest, particularly Jean de Diesbach, Albert de la Pierre, and George de Supersax Valaisan, caused them to be followed to Galerata by commissaries who were empowered to accord to them whatever sum they might demand, on condition that they would lay down their arms. Aware of their value in the field, he was anxious to i8o THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn purchase their friendship and to repay their allegi- ance to himself at their own price, and, as the proposition met with no repulse, and they thus saw an opportunity of at once satisfying their rapacity and their revenge, M. de Lautrec and the Bastard of Savoy ultimately agreed to promise them seven hundred thousand crowns. Meanwhile the coalesced princes, desirous, as soon as they witnessed the formidable attitude assumed by Francis, to consolidate by a treaty of peace the few days of truce which were rapidly coming to a close, and if possible to induce the king to withdraw to a greater distance from Milan, entered into a negotiation with him to that effect; but so certain did it appear that the young monarch would, should he comply with their wish for a cessation of hostilities, be enabled to dictate his own terms, that the Due de Gueldres, whose pre- sence was needed in his own dominions to check the aggressions of the Brabanters, withdrew from the army, leaving his troops under the command of his nephew, Claude de Lorraine, Due de Guise, brother of the reigning prince. He was, however, premature, for while the negotiations were still pending, and before the arrangement could be concluded, a reinforcement of ten thousand Switzers who had just crossed the Alps to share the fortunes of their countrymen, and the powerful exhortations of the celebrated Cardinal of Sion, the sworn enemy of France, sufficed to dissuade the mercenaries from their purpose, and 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 181 to put an end to the treaty altogether. The new- comers, resolved not to have made a bootless journey, declared that they would not return home empty-handed while those who had preceded them were gorged with booty, and proposed that the money which the French king had deposited at Buffaloro for the payment of his troops should be carried off. The scheme was a tempting one to the avaricious mountaineers, and met with almost universal welcome ; but Jean de Diesbach and Albert de la Pierre, who had hitherto possessed great influence, finding themselves unable to dis- suade their followers from so disgraceful an enter- prise, returned to their own country with six or seven thousand men, and, it is believed, warned Lautrec of the contemplated attack. Inspired by the eloquence of the cardinal, the Swiss were once more eager to meet those in arms to whom they had been about to sell their services ; and their old hatred against France was again revived by the voice of the unholy churchman, who, as the troops defiled before him, shouted exultingly : " Grasp your spears, beat your drums, and let us march without loss of time to glut our hate upon them, and to quench our thirst with their blood." Under this .sanguinary influence the Swiss made their attack upon Buffaloro, where, as we have already shown, they failed in their object, and thence marched from Monza towards Milan, plun- dering alike friends and foes, quarrelling among themselves, and spreading desolation upon their path. 182 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn The impatient spirit of Bayard chafed at the insolence of the ill-governed mercenaries, who were thus impeding the progress of the French arms ; and aware that they were weakened by internal divisions, and that the opportunity was not one to be neglected, he wrote to the king, who was then at Lyons, to solicit his permission to attack them with that portion of the army which was then upon the spot, and which he declared to be sufficient to ensure success. Francis, however, would not listen to the suggestion, but gave stringent orders that no engagement should be hazarded until the whole of the troops could be brought into the field. He, however, hastened his own departure from France, and proceeded with all speed to Turin, where he was warmly greeted by his uncle, Charles III., Duke of Savoy, that wavering prince who had ever a ready reception for every successful sovereign. Several strong places were taken on his way without an effort at defence, and many a bronze cheek flushed as the keys of Novara were delivered up. At this point he was joined by the Due de Gueldres, the ever faithful and loyal ser- vant of France, with six thousand lansquenets ; and while the Swiss entered Milan with their whole army, amounting to a force of thirty-five thou- sand men, Francis established his headquarters at Marignano, a small village about two leagues from the city gates, pushing his vanguard to San-Donato and Santa Brigitta, which diminished the distance between the hostile troops about one-half. 1515 FRANCIS THE FIRST 183 To prevent any junction between the Swiss and the papal and Spanish armies was now an object of the utmost importance, and accident effected for the young king what must otherwise have been hopeless. The Spaniards had made prisoner a con- fidential messenger of the Pope, and affecting not to credit the account which he gave of his character and mission, they took possession of his despatches, and discovered from their contents that not only was Leo in treaty with Francis, but that his nephew had also addressed to him a letter of com- pliment and congratulation. This discovery natu- rally created a mutual jealousy and distrust, and Cardona refused to pass the Po unless the papal general were in his company ; a resolution which, by the delays which it produced, prevented any co-operation with the Swiss, and moreover gave D'Alviano time to reach Lodi, ten miles farther forward, with a large body of mounted troops ; while Cardona himself, with the papal and Spanish armies, was at Placenza, beyond the Po, twenty miles farther off in the rear of the French forces. Indignant at the sordid treachery of the Swiss, Francis was now as eager to attack them as he had previously been to conciliate ; while the Car- dinal of Sion was equally desirous that they should meet the enemy single-handed, without either papal or Spanish interference ; a suggestion which aroused alike the vanity and the enthusiasm of the excited mountaineers, who had begun to esteem themselves invincible. From an elevated spot he harangued 184 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn the restless host, calling upon them to do them- selves justice, to remember their late successes, and the pledge which they had given to restore the young Duke of Milan to his lawful rights. He reminded them how much and how often they had themselves contributed to the glory of the French arms ; and bade them recollect that in return for their services France had broken her treaties, violated her most solemn pledges, and insulted them in their honour, by opposing to them the lansquenets of Germany, who now sought to arrogate to themselves a fame which the Swiss had purchased with their blood in many a well- fought field. He spoke with contempt of the superior force to which they would be opposed, declaring that the remembrance of Novara should be sufficient to render such a consideration idle ; and he terminated his impassioned address by calling their attention to the fact that should they conquer, not only all the glory but all the spoil would be their own ; an argument which revealed how perfectly he was master of the art of elo- quence. A wild shout of applause welcomed his words, but, ere he could resume his speech, the young Marquis de Fleuranges, who had approached the city gates to reconnoitre with more boldness than caution, was seen and recognized by Mutio Colonna, who instantly gave the alarm. The Swiss flew to arms, and on Thursday the I3th of September, at three o'clock in the afternoon, they marched out 15 1 5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 185 of Milan, still under the excitement of the words to which they had been listening, and, burning with the thirst of gold and hatred, advanced to Marig- nano to attack the enemy. Disdaining to delay the moment of their charge by any precautionary measure, they moved forward in a compact body along the direct road, flanked on either side by a deep ditch ; and the fire of the artillery, which was turned upon them, produced no other effect on their order of march than to cause them to draw their ranks closer, and to fill up with celerity and steadiness the gaps which were made from time to time in their column ; and ere the twilight fell they had overthrown the first body of lans- quenets, who had been entrusted by the Connetable de Bourbon with the guard of the guns. The king was conversing with D'Alviano, pre- viously to seating himself at table, when Fleuranges galloped into the camp with information from M. de Bourbon that the Swiss were approaching. All was immediately in movement ; and while Francis assumed his arms, he urged D'Alviano to join him with all speed with the Venetian army ; and this done, he sprang into the saddle and has- tened towards the enemy, followed by his body- guard ; while D'Alviano hurried back to Lodi to bring up such troops as he could collect upon the instant. History scarcely affords an example of a battle disputed with greater obstinacy than that of Marig- nano. The Swiss, intoxicated with vanity, hate, 1 86 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn and greed, fought as though all their renown as soldiers were to be staked upon this one die ; while Francis was surrounded by able and experienced generals, and, although ignorant of the art of war, was full of intrepidity and courage. When the young king reached the field the action had, as we have stated above, already commenced ; and although the conne"table had taken every precaution to strengthen his position, the serried attack of the enemy placed the French troops at a disadvan- tage, from the impracticability of their acting simul- taneously. A large ditch had been dug to protect the guns, which were flanked by the cavalry ; but although a murderous fire continued to be turned upon them, the mountaineers did not swerve or hesitate for an instant. On they moved in silence, darkening the causeway with their numbers, filling up the places of their dead, and marching straight upon the guns. Not even the appearance of the cavalry, destitute as they were of such a force, appeared to startle them ; but still they pressed forward, concentrating all their efforts against their detested rivals, the lansquenets, and apparently regardless of the mounted troops. This fact, un- fortunately, aroused the suspicions of the Germans, who, perceiving that they were the sole objects of attack, began to apprehend treachery ; and as this fatal idea gained ground, they wavered and gave way, ultimately retreating in disorder behind the ditch, where the Swiss followed them so closely as to gain possession of four of the guns. 1 5 IS FRANCIS THE FIRST 187 The rapid eye of the connetable detected the truth at a glance, and, resolved to convince his startled allies of the fallacy of their suspicion, he caused the cavalry to attack the flank of the Swiss column, which they did with considerable effect, although from the nature of the ground they were unable to manoeuvre, and could only advance by five hundred at a time. Meanwhile Francis himself advanced at the head of the Black Bands, 1 and made a vigorous attack upon the opposite flank ; when the lansquenets, at once convinced of their error, at- tempted to regain the advantage they had lost, and, after a desperate struggle, succeeded in driving the enemy beyond the ditch, and once more turning the guns against them. The dauntless courage of the young monarch, who fought on foot, pike in hand, like the force which he led, animated the enthusiasm of the troops, and for a moment shook the arrogant tranquillity of the Swiss ; but, nevertheless, nothing important had been accomplished. Still the very sky seemed to bristle with their long pikes, and their ranks were as dense as at the commencement of the action. In vain did the connetable and his generals exert the most desperate valour ; in vain did the panting horses press closely upon the fore- most files, while their riders endeavoured to cut their way through the thick-clinging mass ; again and again they returned to the charge, only to be 1 These were the forces contributed by the Due de Gueldres, who, during the long wars of their sovereign against the emperor, having always fought under a black banner, had acquired this appellation. i88 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vu foiled ; and at length, exhausted by their unsuccess- ful efforts, they were compelled to fall back in some disorder upon the infantry, when the king suddenly charged one of the Swiss wings, consisting of four thousand men, with two hundred gendarmes so opportunely and so vigorously, that the division was completely routed, and with a cry of " France ! France !" laid down their arms. The similarity of uniform that existed between the two armies, each of which bore the white cross, was a serious disadvantage to the French, as, amid the clouds of dust raised by the horses and artillery and the deepening twilight, it was difficult for them to distinguish friends from enemies, a circumstance which had nearly led to the capture of the young king, who, while at the head of his gendarmes, imagined that he was approaching a body of lans- quenets, and galloped towards them shouting his rallying cry, when instantly a score of pikes were levelled at him, and he was compelled to make a hasty retreat with his squadron. The Swiss, on the other hand, having no cavalry of their own, could direct their weapons fearlessly against the mounted force, nor did they fail to profit by such an opportunity whenever it occurred ; but still, conscious that they were indebted to the same manceuvre for their success at Novara, they made every other object subservient to the capture of the artillery, and were never for an instant diverted from their purpose. As the moon rose less difficulty was experienced I5IS FRANCIS THE FIRST 189 by the French, who were once more enabled to distinguish friends from foes ; and Francis having rallied a body of lansquenets joined the French infantry, led by the connetable, and succeeded in driving back the battalion which was marching upon the guns. This was the most fearful moment of the battle ; the two armies became intermixed, the ditches were filled with dead, and no longer offered an impediment to the passage of either party ; La Tremouille, who yet writhed at the remembrance of Novara, and his son, the Prince de Talmont, who was equally anxious to avenge the honour of the French arms, remained throughout the whole con- flict upon this one spot, feeling that here, and only here, would the fortunes of the fight be decided ; while Bayard, who was close beside them, having had his own war-horse killed under him, mounted a second just previously to the last charge, and, more intent upon the enemy than his own safety, suffered the bridle to escape from his hand, when the spirited animal, excited by the clashing of weapons and the shrill battle-cries which resounded on every side, no sooner found itself freed from restraint than it gal- loped madly towards the Swiss lines, broke through the foremost ranks, and would inevitably have carried its rider into the very thick of the enemy's forces had not its feet become entangled in some trailing vines, which checked its headlong career. The position of the good knight was perilous, but not for a moment losing his presence of mind, he threw himself from the saddle, cast off his helmet THE COURT AND REIGN OF and tasses, and crept along one of the ditches on his hands and knees, until the shouts of " France ! France!" which pealed out close beside him, gave him assurance that he had reached the French lines. The Due de Lorraine, by whom he was immedi- ately recognized, supplied him with a third horse, and he obtained another helmet from a comrade in the field. Little more, however, could for the pre- sent be accomplished. Before midnight the moon went down, and darkness compelled both hosts to pause in a confusion which promised them ample work for the morrow. The two armies were com- pletely entangled ; several batteries had been taken, and one Swiss battalion was so close upon the artil- lery, beside which the king had taken up his post, that it was found necessary to extinguish the matches in order that the enemy might not discover how slenderly he was attended. No signal of retreat having been sounded by either party, the confusion was complete, each corps or detachment being compelled to make its bivouac where it had been surprised by the darkness ; and thus friends and enemies, the living and the dead, lay side by side, sharing one common couch, until the daylight should once more call the survivors to recommence their struggle. The young king spent the re- mainder of the night stretched on a gun-carriage, completely armed, where he snatched a few inter- vals of broken rest ; and having complained of thirst and demanded a draught of water, it was brought to him in a helmet, but so discoloured with 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 191 blood that, exhausted as he was, he put it from him with loathing. The hours of seeming rest were not, however, suffered by the French leaders to pass in total inaction. An Italian trumpeter, who was stationed near the person of the king, and the sounds of whose brazen instrument at intervals broke upon the stillness of that field of blood like the trump of the archangel, rousing the dying and awakening the requiem of the dead, gave out signals to the dif- ferent French regiments, who one by one approached the royal person ; and thus, when the day broke, Francis found himself once more surrounded by a force of twenty thousand lansquenets, and all his horse, while at the same time the horns of the mountaineers were heard as if in response or de- fiance, although no corresponding movement took place among their forces. At break of day the Swiss renewed the attack, the artillery was impetuously assaulted, and the Germans who defended it were driven back ; but the present disposition of the French army enabled it to withstand this first shock without any apparent discomfiture, and the well-directed fire of the guns opened a passage for the cavalry through the hostile ranks, and turned the tide in favour of the assailed. The Swiss soon became aware that they could not successfully contend against the enemy upon this point, and accordingly detached a strong force to attack the French in the rear ; but in this attempt they were also destined to be foiled, as the troops of 192 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAI>. vn the Due d'Alen9on, which had hitherto taken no part in the conflict, and the crossbow-men of De Prie, having discovered the manoeuvre, charged them with vigour, and totally routed the whole body. It soon became evident that the star of Francis was in the ascendant ; the Swiss began to give way, but slowly, reluctantly, and with unbroken ranks, contending for every inch of ground with a tenacity which was heroic ; but at length they abandoned all hope and retreated undisguisedly, although still with their faces turned towards their enemies. When the victory was complete the young king called a council to decide upon the expediency of pursuit, but the project was ultimately abandoned ; even Bayard, ever the foremost where glory was to be won, declaring that the day might yet come when the co-operation of the Swiss would be valuable to France ; and the most adventurous remembering that the number and rank of their own wounded demanded their first attention. The fugitives were consequently permitted to re-enter Milan without opposition, where they passed the remnant of the eventful day which had witnessed their defeat, and at dawn the following morning marched out in mortified silence on their way towards their own mountains. D'Alviano, who by forced marches had reached Marignano with some Venetian cavalry, only arrived in time to attack the Swiss upon their homeward path ; but the exertion which he had undergone proved, nevertheless, fatal to his shattered consti- 15 1 5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 193 tution, and soon brought him to his grave. The Swiss had suffered enormous loss, computed at from twelve to fifteen thousand men ; nor had the French, conquerors though they were, unalloyed cause for rejoicing. They also had paid a heavy price for their victory. Six thousand of their troops had fallen, and among them were some of the most chivalrous blood of the nation. Francois de Bour- bon had been killed by his brother's side ; the brave young Prince de Talmond, who had so nobly sup- ported his father, was struck down before his eyes ; Pierre de Gouffier Boisy, the gallant D'Imbercourt, the Comte de Sancerre, the Sire de Mouy, Bussy, the nephew of the Cardinal d'Amboise, La Meille- raye, the king's standard-bearer, De Roye, and the young Count di Pitigliano, were all among the slain ; while the list of wounded was even more appalling, and Bourbon owed his life to the in- trepidity of a squadron of his own cavalry. Even Francis himself, as we have already shown, barely escaped capture ; while, true to his knightly tenets, he had exposed his person throughout the whole conflict so unsparingly that he was on more than one occasion in imminent peril, and had a portion of his dress transfixed by the blow of a pike. The letter addressed by the young monarch to his mother immediately after the battle is highly characteristic alike of his personal courage and his total want of power to understand, even at its close, by what precise strategy the victory had been secured to his own arms. " Because the avenue," VOL. i 1 3 194 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vu he says, " by which the said Swiss were approach- ing was rather narrow, it was not so possible to place our gendarmes in the vanguard as though we had been in the open country, which threatened to throw us into great disorder. . . . And however well and gallantly these men-at-arms charged, the connetable, the Marechal de Chabannes, Imber- court, Teligny, Pont-Remy, and others who were there, they were thrown back upon their foot- soldiers, so that, owing to the great dust, they could scarcely see each other, especially as the night was coming on, and there was some slight confusion ; but God did me the favour to guide me to the side of those who were pushing them so hotly. I thought it well to charge them, and so they were, and I promise you, Madame, however well led and brave they were, our two hundred gendarmes overcame four thousand Swiss, and routed them rudely enough, making them throw- down their pikes and cry France / . . . And you must understand that the conflict of that night lasted from three o'clock in the afternoon until be- tween eleven and twelve, when the moon failed us. And I assure you, Madame, that I saw the lans- quenets measure pikes with the Swiss, the lances with the gendarmes, and it can no longer be said that the gendarmes are mounted hares, for without fail it was they who did the business ; and I do not believe that I lie when I say that by five hundred and five hundred at a time, thirty fine charges were made before the battle was won." 15 is FRANCIS THE FIRST 195 The entire letter is long, often playful, and occa- sionally even flippant, when the gravity of the sub- ject is considered ; but Francis was still young, greedy of renown, and consequently almost careless of the means and price at which it was acquired, while the generosity of his character is apparent in the fact that he speaks of his own exploits as though they were mere matters of course, while he withholds no praise from those by whom he was surrounded. 1 1 " Au regard des Suisses, ils e"toient en trois troupes, la premiere de dix mille, la seconde de nuit mille hommes, et la tierce de dix mille hommes ; vous assurant qu'ils venoient pour chatier un prince s'il n'eut etc* bien accompagne' ; car d'entree de table qu'ils sentirent notre artillerie tirer, ils prindrent le pays couvert, ainsi que le soleil commengoit a se coucher, de sorte que nous ne leur fimes pas grand mal pour 1'heure de notre artillerie, et vous assure qu'il n'est pas possible de venir en plus grande fureur ni plus ardemment : ils trou- verent les gens de cheval de 1'avant-garde par le cote' ; et combien que les dits hommes d'armes chargeassent bien et gaillardement, le connetable, le Marechal de Chabannes, Ymbercourt Telligny, Pont de Remy et autres qui etoient la si furent-ils reboutez sur leurs gens de pied, de sorte avec grande poussiere que Ton ne se pouvoit voir, aussi bien que la nuit venoit ; il y cut quelque peu de desordre ; mais Dieu me fit la grace de venir sur le cote de ceux qui les chassoient un peu chaudement, me sembla bon de les charger, et le furent de sorte, et vous promets, Madame, si bien accompagnes et quelques gentils galants qu'ils soient que deux cens hommes d'armes que nous etions, en defismes bien quatre mille Suisses et les repoussames assez rudement, leur faisant jetter leurs piques et crier France ! La- quelle chose donna haleine a nos gens de la plus part de notre bande, et ceux qui me purent suivre, allames trouver une autre bande de huit mille hommes, laquelle a 1'approche cuidions qui fussent lans- quenets, car la nuit etoit deja bien noire. Toutefois, quand ce vient a crier France! je vous assure qu'ils nous jetterent cinq a six cent piques au nez, nous montrant qu'ils n'dtoient point nos amis. Non- obstant cela si furent-ils charge's et remis au-dedans de leurs tentes, en telle sorte qu'ils laisserent de suivre les lansquenets et nous voyant la nuit noire, et n'eust etd la lune qui aidoit, nous eussions bien etc 1 empeches a connoitre 1'un 1'autre ; et m'en allai jetter dans Partillerie et la railler cinq ou six mille lansquenets et quelque trois cens hommes d'armes, de telle sorte que je tins ferme a la grosse bande des Suisses. 196 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn On the Friday evening, the same upon which this letter was written, the whole camp was loud with rejoicing, and the bearing of each separate leader was warmly discussed, when it was generally ad- mitted that Bayard was the hero of the two days, as he had ever been in the field of honour ; and Francis himself was so fully impressed with the same conviction, that before the night set in he resolved, previously to creating knights with his own hand, to receive knighthood himself at that of Bayard : the romantic tastes in which he loved to indulge having caused him to overlook the fact that every monarch of France was necessarily understood to be a knight even from the cradle. Nevertheless the ceremony must have been an imposing one, as the young king stood upon the " Et cependant mon frere le connetable rallia tous les pietons fran- gois et quelque nombre de gendarmerie, leur fit une charge si rude, qu'il en tailla cinq ou six mille en pieces, et jetta cette bande dehors ; et nous par 1'autre cote leur fismes jetter une vole"e d'artillerie a 1'autre bande, et quant les chargeames de sorte que les emportames, leur fismes passer un gue" qu'ils avoient passe" sur nous. Cela fait rail- liames tous nous gens et retournames a I'artillerie ; et mon frere le connetable sur 1'autre coin de camp, car les Suisses se logerent bien pres de nous, si pres qu'il n'y avoit qu'un fosse entre deux ; toute la nuit demeurasmes le cul sur la selle, la lance au poing, 1'armet a la tete et nos lansquenets en ordre pour combattre ; et pour ce que j'etois le plus pres de nos ennemis, m'a fallu faire le guet, de sorte qu'ils ne nous ont point surpris au matin, et faut que vous entendiez que le combat du soir dura depuis les trois heures apres midi jusques entre onze et douze heures que la lime nous faillit, et y fut fait une trentaine de belles charges. La nuit nous departit et meme la paille pour recommencer au matin, et croyez, Madame, que nous avons etc" vingt huit heures a cheval, 1'armet a la tete, sans boire ni manger." Lettre de Frangois i er a la Duchesse d'Angouleme sa mere sur la bataille de Marignan, e'crite du camp de Sainte-Brigide, le 1 4 Septembre i 5 i 5, le jour meme de la victoire. T. xvii. des Memoires de la Collection Petitot, et t. i. de PHistoire de Francois Premier par Gaillard, p. 482^488. 15 1 5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 197 battlefield where he had subdued his enemies, in the midst of the brave and devoted chivalry of a great nation ; the dead who had fallen in his cause yet unearthed ; the living who had fought beside him still at their post ; the gallant men who sur- vived the conflict marshalled about him, girding with their strength the proud group clustered about their youthful and fearless and victorious sovereign ; the banners of their beloved France streaming upon the air, and the weapons which had so well and so recently done their duty gleaming on all sides ; feathers streaming, proud war-horses champing the bit, and the artillerymen leaning upon their guns, now dark and silent. Mistaken as the act may have been, and worse than supererogatory in a powerful monarch, the scene must, nevertheless, have been one to make high hearts leap and bold brows flush, as Francis called Bayard to his side, and, with the noble and endearing courtesy familiar to him, declared his in- tention of being there and then knighted by the hand of a warrior esteemed one of the most re- nowned, not only of his own nation, but of all Christendom ; and despite the disclaimers of his astonished subject, he persisted in his determina- tion. "In good sooth, Sire," then exclaimed Bayard, who would have held further objections to the com- mand of his sovereign as discourteous and irreve- rent, "since it is your royal pleasure that this should be I am ready to perform your will, not once, but 198 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn many times, unworthy as I am of the high office to which you have appointed me," and grasping his sword proudly and firmly, he continued, as the young king bent his knee, " May my poor agency be as efficacious as though the ceremony were per- formed by Oliver, Godfrey, or Baldwin, although, in good truth, you are the first prince whom I have ever dubbed a knight ; and God grant that you may never turn your back upon an enemy." Then brandishing his good weapon, and glancing sport- ively at it, as the last rays of evening flashed upon its polished blade, he apostrophized it as though it were a thing of life, which could participate in his own hilarity of spirit, exclaiming, "Thou art for- tunate indeed to-day that thou hast been called upon to confer knighthood upon so great and powerful a monarch ; and certes, my trusty sword, thou shalt henceforth be carefully guarded as a relic, honoured above all others, and shalt never be un- sheathed again save it be against the infidel !" Then, lowering the point with reverence, he thrust it back into its scabbard amid the enthusiastic shouts of the excited army. Many of the French officers, among whom one of the most distinguished was the gallant young Mar- quis de Fleuranges, then received the honour of knighthood in their turn by the hand of Francis himself; and three days having been consumed in these ceremonies, and in the burial of those who had fallen upon that memorable field, the French struck their tents and marched towards Milan. 15 15 FRANCIS THE FIRST 199 The Cardinal of Sion had already taken refuge in the coveted city, trusting still to retrieve the disasters of Marignano, but he was soon undeceived by the bearing of the fugitives who poured through the gates after their defeat. So far from acknow- ledging his authority, the mortified Swiss bitterly reproached him with the result of his pernicious counsels, upbraiding him with the blood which had been spilt, and the disgrace of which he had been the author ; and so fierce was their resentment that he was wholly indebted to the sacredness of his character for his escape from the vengeance of the infuriated troops, who saw all their previous glory and power annihilated by their present overthrow. Nor did he long venture to trust even to this safe- guard ; for, having convinced himself that his influ- ence was at an end, he found it expedient to escape by stealth from the city, carefully carrying with him, however, the young Francesco Sforza, the brother of the reigning duke, upon whom he looked as the earnest of future dissension. Milan gladly opened its gates to the conquerors, for the terror which the battle of Marignano had inspired forbade any further effort at resistance on the part of its citizens ; but the citadel into which Maximilian Sforza had retired still held out. Al- though by the late defeat of his mercenary allies he was rendered almost powerless, the duke had been encouraged to defy his enemies to the last extremity by the fact that ere they vacated the city the Swiss had encouraged him to defend the for- 200 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn tress, declaring that they would shortly return in increased force to effect his deliverance. Unfor- tunately, however, the promise was accompanied by a demand of their arrears of pay, which Maxi- milian, who in losing his duchy had lost all, was no longer in a position to satisfy ; and thus, with a dis- play of magnanimity at the outset, they were finally enabled to secure what they had become anxious to obtain a plausible pretext for abandoning the weak prince to his fate. Dissensions had, moreover, broken out among the Italian subjects of the duke and the small force of Swiss who had determined to share his fortunes, and thus, besieged from without and weakened by jealousies and differences within, the citadel, with its slender garrison of two thousand men, was unable to withstand the ardour of the French led on by the Due de Bourbon, and it accordingly surrendered, twenty days after the battle of Marignano, together with the city of Cremona, the only portion of Sforza's territories which was not already in the possession of the French king. Francis proved himself, however, a generous conqueror, conceded honourable conditions to the conquered, suffered the entire garrison to evacuate the citadel without molestation, and offered to Sforza himself a safe asylum in France, with a pension of thirty thousand crowns. Destitute alike of talent and ambition, Maximilian eagerly embraced these terms, and gladly retired from a position to which he was unequal, and to which he would in all prob- 1 5i5 FRANCIS THE FIRST 201 ability never have aspired had he not listened to the advice of pretended friends, whose interests were served by his advancement, rather than to the promptings of his own inclination. He accord- ingly renounced his ducal rights in favour of the French king, passed into France, and after linger- ing through fifteen years of insignificance, ultimately died in Paris on the loth of June 1530. Francis was now master of the whole of the Milanese, and a few days subsequent to the com- pletion of the treaty made his ceremonious entry into the captured city at the head of his army, attended by five princes of the blood, when the oath of allegiance was once more taken by the authori- ties as readily and as glibly as though it had not already been pledged and violated on many pre- vious occasions. Congratulations, equally unmean- ing, poured in from all sides, and the young king saw himself at last sovereign of Milan. CHAPTER VIII Leo. X. proposes a treaty with France, which is ratified at Viterbo His tergiversation Francis proceeds to Bologna to meet the Pope Policy of the pontiff A league is formed between the two potentates Francis agrees to abandon his designs on Naples The question of the Pragmatic Sanction is discussed Discontent of the university of Paris Leo X. endeavours to induce Francis to undertake a crusade against the Turks The Concordat is signed Exultation of the French people Ferdinand of Aragon endeavours to arouse the jealousy of Henry VIII. against France The emperor raises a powerful army Lautrec besieges Brescia, but is repulsed, and compelled to retire to Milan The Due de Bourbon destroys the faubourgs of the city, and disbands the Swiss troops The emperor threatens to raze the city of Milan The Swiss refuse to act Maximilian escapes by night from the camp the siege of Milan is raised The Swiss troops are recalled by the Diet The Imperialists evacuate the Milanese Disgrace of Maximilian Brescia capitulates Death of Ferdinand of Aragon He bequeaths his kingdom to the Archduke Charles Francis issues several edicts which are unfavourably received by his subjects Arrogance of the chancellor Education of Charles of Aragon His prospects He endeavours to conciliate Francis Jealousy of M. de Chievres against the Cardinal Ximenes Charles sends an ambassador to France The two monarchs enter into a treaty of alliance The hand of the infant Princesse Louise promised to the Spanish king The peace of Noyon Maximilian accedes to the treaty State of the Venetian territories Francis opens a negotiation with the Helvetic States, and concludes a treaty of amity with Switzerland. LEO X., versed in all the refinements of Italian policy, abandoned with their success the cause of his allies ; and as the victory of Marignano had secured the ascendency of Francis in Italy, he lost no time in seeking to obtain his friendship. A nuncio was despatched immediately that the result of the battle became known, ostensibly to congratulate the 1515-17 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I 203 French monarch, but the real object of whose mission was to propose a treaty, by which the sovereign pontiff volunteered to relinquish his pre- tensions to Parma and Piacenza, and to withdraw the papal troops which were serving under the em- peror, on condition that, as a compensation for these territories, Bologna should be ceded to him, as well as a monopoly of the commerce in salt from Cervia. To this proposition Francis acceded, and the treaty was ratified at Viterbo on the I3th of October. The two forfeited cities opened their gates, the garri- sons marched out, and they were left at the disposal of the French. In the second clause of the treaty Leo was, however, less honest ; for instead of re- calling the troops who were serving under the standard of Maximilian, he simply disbanded them, thus leaving each individual free to re-engage him- self in the same army, while he acted with the same prudent reserve when proposing to Francis that ere he left Italy they should meet and confer together upon such subjects as might concern their mutual interests. Having once given his assent to this arrangement, the young king prepared to proceed to Rome ; but the wily Pope had already imbibed a suspicion that the conqueror of Marignano had designs against Naples ; and, resolved not to smooth his path towards this new object of ambition, he affected to deprecate the idea of his undergoing the inconvenience and fatigue which such a journey must involve, and suggested Bologna as the more desirable point of meeting. 204 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm Thither, therefore, Francis repaired, brilliantly attended, and was met on the confines of the eccle- siastical states by a body of thirty cardinals, who welcomed him with every demonstration of respect and regard, and by whom he was at once conducted to the consistory in great state, in order that he might without loss of time pay that spiritual homage to the pontiff which was enforced from every Christian monarch by whom he was approached. The French king entered the church supported by two cardinal- bishops, and followed by his chancellor and barons, habited in vests and haut-de-chausses of cloth of gold; himself holding the train of the Pope's robe until he approached the altar, when he took his seat upon a low stool beside him, rising and kneeling with the assem- bled cardinals. When the pontiff communicated, the king presented the water and napkin with which he washed his hands ; while the former was warned not to raise his hand to his cap, as he was in the habit of doing upon such occasions, lest the action should be observed, and construed into an intentional courtesy towards his royal assistant, which it would be indecorous in the vicar of Christ to exhibit in public towards any temporal monarch. The great ambition of Francis having been for some time a reconciliation with the sovereign-pontiff, he was at once fascinated by the urbane bearing and specious sophistry of his host, who, although he had nearly reached his fortieth year, possessed all the tastes and habits of a younger man, and, enamoured rather of military glory than ecclesiastical probity, 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 205 spent his life in dreams of conquest and a round of pleasure and dissipation. Having by his reckless extravagance exhausted the immense treasures accumulated by his predecessor, Leo X. was desirous of subjecting additional provinces to the authority of the Holy See, in order that he might be enabled to levy new tributes ; and he accordingly felt it expedient to conciliate his most dangerous rival in this game of warfare by every means in his power. Nothing could exceed the brilliancy of the festivals given in honour of the young conqueror. The streets through which he passed were draped with silks and tapestry, and strewn with leaves and flowers ; while, equally devoted to splendour and pleasure, the two potentates passed several days in the most magnificent dissipation before they pro- ceeded to the more serious business which had induced the meeting. These days were not, however, lost to the crafty Leo, who, sufficiently skilled in physiognomy to discern at a glance the principal failing of his princely guest, assailed him by an excess of flattery which he was constitutionally unable to withstand ; and, this point gained, induced him to purchase his reconciliation with the Church by conditions which were degrading alike to a sovereign and a con- queror. While the two contracting parties formed a league of strict alliance, not only between themselves person- ally, but also between their separate states, Francis, in 206 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vin addition, conceded his guarantee of protection to all the ecclesiastical possessions, and pledged himself not only to assist the Pope to recover all the pro- perties of the Church to which he could advance a valid right, but even to place implicit trust in the word of the pontiff, whenever these claims might be disputed. He likewise promised not to receive under his protection any vassal, feudatory, or church- man of his holy ally who might have rendered, or should hereafter render, himself obnoxious to his spiritual sovereign, and to withdraw his favour from all such as he should have already provided with an asylum in France. He assured to the Pope, as we have stated, the commerce in salt, which, in point of fact, secured to him a monopoly of the whole trade in that essential article throughout the Milanese ; and promised to the Florentine republic, or, in other words, to the house of Medicis, by whom it was governed, the same guarantees as to the Church itself; and he especially pledged himself to support the power of Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici, the former of whom had been constantly associated in all public measures of the pontiff, and to grant to them titles of honour in France and large pensions. Meanwhile, in return for all these important con- cessions Leo did no more than promise to support the king in his sovereignty of the duchy of Milan, such as he then held it ; and to restore the cities of Parma and Piacenza, which he had himself detached from that province. 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 207 Three days were consumed in this unequal, and, to Francis, unfavourable conference, during the course of which the Italian pontiff succeeded, more- over, in inducing him to abandon all present designs upon Naples ; representing to him that the health of Ferdinand was becoming sufficiently precarious to justify the anticipation of his early demise, at which period he should himself be freed from his engage- ments towards that monarch, and at liberty to assist the views of France. Anxious to retain the newly acquired friendship of the Pope, Francis was induced to comply with this request also, although not al- together unconditionally. He could not overlook the fact that the Duke of Ferrara, who was a feudatory of the Holy See, had forfeited, through his fidelity to his own cause, the territories of Modena and Reggio ; or that the Duke of Urbino, a kinsman of the previous Pope, had been deprived of the estates which he held of the see of Rome for having fought throughout the recent war under the French banner, and he accordingly stipulated that the former should be reinstated in his possessions, and the domains of the latter restored to him. The first proposition was, after some difficulty, accepted by Leo X., but even then only upon the condition that he should personally be reimbursed in certain sums which he declared that the defalcation of the duke had caused him to expend ; to the latter he merely replied that he would give all necessary consideration to the subject ; and with this equivocal answer Francis suffered himself to be satisfied. 2o8 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm The question of the Pragmatic Sanction, involv- ing as it did more serious and important conse- quences, was deputed to the investigation and discus- sion of commissioners, who were empowered to examine and to decide upon the conflicting interests which must be affected by its arrangement. This was ultimately accomplished by a mutual concession, and the terms being carefully arranged and specified, the treaty received the name of Concordat, the Pope granting to the French king the privilege of nominat- ing to all the vacant benefices in his kingdom, and Francis, on his side, engaging to pay to the pontiff the year's revenue of benefices so bestowed. The university of Paris, however, saw with a jealous eye the project of an arrangement which annihilated the freedom of ecclesiastical elections ; and refused either to register or to recognize the right of the monarch thus to limit the powers of the Gallican Church, and to divert its revenues, accusing him of having bartered its unalienable rights in order to further his personal interests. Having, by an assembly at Bourges in 1438, liberated themselves in a great degree from all interference with the internal economy of their Church on the part of the Pope, and released themselves from his exactions, the French clergy were naturally averse to feel the yoke of papal despotism once more upon their necks ; and thus this, one of the most unpopular measures of Francis, became at once a source of heartburning and suspicion. The next attempt of the wily pontiff was to in- 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 209 duce the young sovereign to undertake a crusade against the Turks ; a project which he considered as eminently suited at once to excite the ardent and chivalrous nature of Francis, and to deliver himself for a time from a dangerous neighbour ; while in order the more to please his fancy and to arouse his ambition in favour of such an expedition, he pro- posed to bestow upon him the title of Emperor of the East. Francis accepted the courtesy, but regarded the whole transaction as nothing more, declining to assume a dignity which he was conscious that his host had no power to confer, and confining his ambi- tion to other and more feasible enterprises. Nor were the two high contracting parties the only ones who were, at this important crisis, occupied in the furtherance of their individual interests at Bologna. All who directly, or indirectly, assisted in the nego- tiations put forth their several claims ; money, pen- sions, honours, and ecclesiastical benefices were lavishly distributed among the adherents of the Pope. The hand of Philiberte de Savoie, the sister of Madame d'Angouleme, but two and twenty years her junior, was promised to Giuliano de' Medici, with the duchy of Nemours as her dowry ; while Adrian de Boissy, the brother of the grand-master, received a cardinal's hat. Altogether the negotiations became ere their close so lengthy and complicated that the Concordat, by which they were finally terminated, was not signed until the i8th of August 1516. The conquest of Milan assured, and that of VOL. i 14 2io THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vin Naples suspended for a time, Francis proceeded to disband his army, retaining only seven hundred lances, six thousand lansquenets, and four thousand Basques, whom he placed under the command of the Connetable de Bourbon, as his lieutenant-general in the Milanese, for the protection of that duchy ; .and he then departed for France, where he arrived in February 1516, and was welcomed at Lyons by the queen and the duchess his mother, surrounded by a brilliant Court, composed of all that was fairest and noblest in his dominions. The whole kingdom rang with acclamations. All was for the moment at peace both within and with- out, and although clouds might lower upon the political horizon they had not yet burst. The Swiss had been pacified, if not thoroughly conciliated, by the payment of their claims ; the Venetians, with the assistance of Lautrec and his little army, were still occupied in endeavouring to repossess them- selves of their former territories ; but Francis soon became aware that Ferdinand, alarmed at his suc- cess, had (feeble and failing as he was) endeavoured, with a view of distracting his attention from Naples, to excite against him the jealousy of Henry VIII., and had already succeeded in forming a cabal at the English Court, with the assistance of Wolsey, in which the French monarch was accused of a secret enmity towards England an intrigue which had already attained to a height that threatened an approaching war between the two powers. This evil was, however, averted through the sound judg- FRANCIS THE FIRST 211 ment and good policy of the English council ; but Henry had been sufficiently prejudiced by the repre- sentations that were made to him to furnish the emperor secretly with a considerable sum of money, in order to assist him in a new attempt to recover the Milanese, and to place Francesco Sforza, the brother of Maximilian, upon the ducal throne. The subsidies which he had recently received from both Henry VIII. and Ferdinand, and which he had not yet dissipated, enabled the emperor to raise a formidable army of sixteen thousand German cavalry, fifteen thousand Swiss, and ten thousand Spanish foot-soldiers. The French troops, under Lautrec, were at that period (March 1516) besieging Brescia, in conjunction with the Venetians, and con- sidered themselves secure of taking the city, the garrison having determined to surrender in thirty days, should they not receive succour from without. Before that time had elapsed, however, a force of six thousand Germans succeeded in introducing themselves into the fortress, while the emperor appeared in the field at the head of his army, and the besiegers found themselves compelled to re- treat, first beyond the Mincio, and subsequently to abandon not only that river but also those of the Oglio and Adda, and to shut themselves up in Milan, which the Due de Bourbon hastily fortified as well as circumstances would permit, destroy- ing for that purpose the extensive and populous faubourgs. Fortunately for the French, Maximilian did not 212 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm pursue his advantage with the promptitude which would have ensured his ultimate success ; and time was accordingly secured for the arrival of a re- inforcement of thirteen thousand Swiss, raised by Albert de la Pierre in the eight cantons which had accepted the peace proffered by Francis I. the pre- ceding year, as well as of a considerable body of troops from France. The former, however, were not destined to prove serviceable to Bourbon, the influence of the Bishop of Sion, who was in the enemy's camp, being once more exerted to separate them from the cause of France, in which he so far succeeded as to induce them to declare that they would not take the field against their own country- men. In vain did the duke expostulate, they re- mained firm in their determination, and he at length indignantly disbanded the whole force with the ex- ception of the company commanded by Albert de la Pierre, which also stipulated that it should only be employed against the Germans, and the army of mercenaries marched out of the garrison an event which greatly rejoiced the emperor, who now con- ceived the success of his enterprise secure, and sat down before Milan, declaring that he would raze the city to the earth and strew its site with salt unless it instantly capitulated. This threat was, however, disregarded by the French general, and the siege proceeded ; but un- fortunately for Maximilian, the Genoese bankers, to whom Henry VIII. had confided the sum promised to the emperor, having failed before it was trans- 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 213 mitted, he found himself unable to fulfil his engage- ments with his mercenary allies, who began to murmur, and to demand the immediate payment of their stipends. Maximilian strove to pacify them by promises, but they had already experienced the fallacy of similar pledges upon his part, and refused to listen to any compromise. He pointed to Milan, the plunder of which city would, as he anticipated, shortly enable him to pay up the arrears of his whole army ; but the Swiss reminded him that the town was not yet taken, and, with the knowledge of his helplessness, their insolence soon exceeded all bounds, and they threatened, should he not satisfy their claims upon the instant, to offer themselves in a body to the Connetable de Bourbon, by whom they should be paid for their services. In this strait Maximilian found himself compelled to send sixteen thousand crowns to their leaders, by the Cardinal of Sion, desiring him to assure them that he would immediately proceed to Trent to obtain a further supply in order to liquidate all their claims ; but this was no sooner done than, fearing he should in his turn be abandoned, or even delivered over to his enemies, as Ludovico Sforza had formerly been by these very troops, he left the camp in the night, accompanied only by two hundred horsemen, and escaped into Germany, leaving his army without a leader. His flight was no sooner ascertained than the troops disbanded themselves, the siege of Milan was raised, and a few days subsequently the Swiss 2i4 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm of both armies received an order from the diet immediately to return home, which they obeyed in their usual manner, plundering, as they went, every town and village which was not strong enough to venture upon resistance, and thus indemnifying themselves for the non-payment of their salary. About three thousand German and Spanish merce- naries joined the army of the Due de Bourbon, while the confederated troops retired rapidly from the country, harassed in their retreat by the French, whom they left once more in undisputed possession of the Milanese ; and Maximilian found himself in ignoble security, having forfeited the military repu- tation which he had acquired in his youth by a pusillanimity perhaps unequalled. Brescia was once more besieged and capitulated, but Verona still refused to admit the French troops, and as its means of defence were great, and the abilities of its military governor Antonio Colonna 1 well known, the siege promised to become intermin- able. At this particular period the death of Ferdi- nand of Aragon delivered France from her most formidable enemy, and removed from the path of Francis himself the only monarch whose long ex- perience, subtle arts, and numerous resources he had reason to apprehend. Contrary to the previsions of all around him, who were aware of his jealousy of his grandson Charles, 1 Marco-Antonio Colonna distinguished himself greatly in the wars of Italy against the French, to which cause he was, however, subsequently won over by Francis I. He was killed at the siege of Milan in 1522, at the age of forty-nine years. 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 215 and equally at variance with his previous resolve, which had been to constitute the younger of the brothers heir to the crown, only on the day which preceded his death Ferdinand had executed a new will, by which he bequeathed his kingdom to the elder an act of justice which had been reluctantly wrung from him even at the eleventh hour by his most faithful counsellors, who had induced him thus to gainsay his own wishes by representing that as Charles was already heir-apparent to the throne of Austria, the union of that kingdom with the crown of Spain would tend to weaken the power of France a consideration which absorbed all others. Thus the accession of the Archduke Charles united under one sovereign the Netherlands and Franche-Comte, the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Naples, with the newly-discovered treasures of the western world ; but that sovereign had as yet scarcely emerged from boyhood ; his dominions lay distant and disjointed ; the various people over whom he was called upon to rule were unconnected by laws, by customs, and by language, and regarded each other with jealousy and distrust ; while many of the states, attached to their ancient rights and privileges, and apprehensive of their subversion, were inimical to his interests, and considered Francis as their most natural ally. Nevertheless the French king suffered the favour- able moment to escape him, and even while he fore- saw the gathering storm neglected the measures by which it would probably have been averted, and instead of attacking the infant power of his rival, 216 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vn permitted it peaceably to attain to maturity and strength, trusting to the delusive arts of negotiation to effect that which a wiser policy might have com- pelled. Thus, while the evil gained ground apparently unappreciated, Francis, withdrawing his attention from subjects of more vital importance, turned it upon the internal organization of the kingdom, and profited by the momentary calm to issue several new ordinances, some of which were highly unpalat- able to his subjects. His first edict, prompted by Duprat, had already awakened murmurs which, al- though ultimately silenced, were not altogether sup- pressed ; but in March 1516 he published a new ordinance at Lyons, purporting to protect the forest- rights of himself and his nobles, which roused the indignation of both parliament and people. " The young king," says Isambert, " angered by the fact that many persons, not having the right of chase, do take certain brown and black animals, such as hares, pheasants, partridges, and other game, thus com- mitting felony and impeding and curtailing our pastime," fulminated the most severe threats against all poachers and unlicensed sportsmen, condemning them, according to the flagrancy of their crime, to fines, floggings, banishment under pain of the gibbet, confiscation of property, the galleys, and even death itself. He, moreover, inflicted severe punishment on those who, within the limits of the royal forests, possessed arms suited either to war or sport ; and, finally, he gave to all the princes of the blood, 7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 217 nobles, and proprietors of forest lands or warrens throughout the kingdom, the right of maintain- ing the exclusive privilege of sporting upon their property, which was guaranteed to them by punishments equally severe against all in- truders. The parliament at once refused to register such an ordinance, and presented a remonstrance to the monarch, entreating him to mitigate the extreme stringency of this new edict, which must tend to exasperate such of his faithful subjects as not only paid the tax, but also supported all the burthen of the state. Its representations were, however, re- ceived with indifference and disregard, and the chancellor declared that the king was both in- dignant and surprised that the parliament should presume to oppose his will, when it must be aware that the sovereign alone had the right to regulate the administration of his kingdom. " Obey," he concluded, " or the king will recognize in you only rebels, whom he will punish like the meanest of his subjects." The parliament neverthless resisted during twelve months, but at the termination of that period the unrighteous ordinance was regis- tered. Charles had scarcely attained his sixteenth year when he succeeded to the Spanish crown, but, young as he was, the rigid training to which he had been subjected by the prudent foresight of his governor, M. de Chievres, had long accustomed him to the transaction of public business and the duties of a 2i8 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vin monarch. Every despatch which arrived from the provinces, even during the course of the night, was immediately presented to him, and when he had informed himself of its contents he personally com- municated them to his council, where they were discussed in his presence. A remonstrance having been made to the Seigneur de Chievres on this sub- ject upon one occasion by the French ambassador, who testified his surprise that he should inflict such an amount of tedious and frequently untimely labour upon a mere boy when he might so easily relieve him from it, the wise preceptor replied firmly : " Cousin, I am the tutor and guardian of his youth, and I wish that when I die he may be independent of all extraneous help ; whereas, if he were un- acquainted with public business, he must, after my decease, have a new guardian, from his ignorance of his own affairs." Thus, even from his boyhood, Charles had ac- quired habits of thoughtfulness and foresight which gave him throughout his whole life a great advantage over the volatile and romantic Francis I., who seldom suffered more serious subjects to interfere with his personal gratification. The moment of his accession was, however, critical ; he had to fear that Spain would persist in bestowing her dual crown upon his younger brother Ferdinand, who, unlike himself, had been entirely educated under the eye of the late king, and who had long been regarded as his destined successor. By the will so tardily destroyed the junior prince had been declared grand-master of 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 219 the military orders of Spain, and endowed with revenues and power well constituted to render him an effective leader in any civil contention ; and a cabal existed in Aragon in favour of his claims to the sovereignty which he had been led to expect, while even in Castile doubts were expressed as to the right of Charles to assume the crown before the death of his mother, whose hopeless derangement nevertheless precluded her from ascending the throne. At the decease of Ferdinand Charles was in Flanders, and, although naturally desirous to take possession of his new dominions, he was detained by powerful obstacles in the Low Countries. The war in Italy was not yet terminated, and, with the crown of his grandfather, the young king inherited his love of enterprise and thirst for conquest, but he could not inspire the Flemish people with his mili- tary ardour ; they shrank, on the contrary, from a prospect of hostilities with France which must tend to injure their commercial interests, and Charles was not in a position to enforce his views. He had, therefore, no alternative save to seek the friendship and alliance of Francis, to which he was urged by the representations of M. de Chievres, who impressed upon him the imperative necessity of conciliating his new subjects before he attempted any foreign aggression ; the Cardinal Ximenes, Archbishop of Toledo, 1 who had, by the will of the late king, been 1 Don Francisco Ximenes was born at Torrelaguna, in Old Castile, in 1437, and studied at Alcala and Salamanca, where he 220 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm appointed regent of the kingdom until the arrival of his grandson, having, despite his great age, rigor- ously commenced the discharge of his trust, and already begun to interfere with the privileges of the nobles, and to enhance those of the citizens and municipalities. Moreover, M. de Chievres was anxious to avoid, so far as it might be practicable, any familiar intercourse between his royal pupil and the powerful prelate of whose influence he was appre- hensive. Thus Charles upon his accession found himself surrounded by difficulties, and at once became aware that his wisest policy would be to conciliate the friendship of France, and thus secure an efficient ally in case of need, as well as a safe passage into Spain. To effect this important object Charles despatched the Sire de Ravenstein as his ambassador to the French Court, who, on the part of his master, re- afterwards became a tutor of laws. He then obtained a canonry in the diocese of Siguenza, and subsequently the post of Grand-Vicar. Disgusted with the world, he first took the vows as a Cordelier in the convent of Toledo, but, still dissatisfied with the enforced contact with his fellow-men, he withdrew from the cloister to the solitude of Castanel. Isabella the Catholic, hearing the report of his talents and austerities, selected him as her confessor, and in 1495 presented him with the archbishopric of Toledo. Julius II. afterwards called him to the conclave, and Ferdinand in his turn confided to him the administration of public affairs. Xime'nes then resolved to engage in an African war, and himself headed the troops, and took Oran in i 509. Ferdinand, when dying, appointed him, as we have shown, regent of the kingdom of Castile (i 516). In this capacity he reduced to obedience the haughty nobility who refused to recognize Charles V. as their king ; and, in order to humble them further, he permitted the citizens to bear arms, and accorded to them numerous privileges. He reformed and reorganized the governments of the towns, armies, and monasteries, and punished with great severity both theft and assassination. He died in 1517. 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 221 quested Francis to appoint some convenient spot where the delegates of the two sovereigns might confer together, for the purpose of terminating any differences which existed either between themselves or their allies. The proposal was an acceptable one to the French king, who on his side was desirous to establish by a peace his recent conquests in Italy ; and accordingly commissioners were appointed in the persons of Artur Gouffier, Seigneur de Boissy, and Antoine de Croy, Seigneur de Chievres, the ex- governors of the two young monarchs, while Noyon was selected as their place of meeting. On the ist of August they entered the city; and on the 1 3th of the same month a treaty of alliance between Charles and Francis was signed, by which they separately bound themselves to assist each other, not only in reciprocal defence, but also in the attainment of such conquests as they might legiti- mately attempt. The question still pending on the subject of Navarre was arranged by the pledge of M. de Chievres that Charles should, so soon as he had secured peaceable possession of the Spanish crown, carefully investigate the claims of Henri d'Albret, 1 and render him ample justice ; or that Francis should be left free to give him whatever assistance he might deem fitting. The pretensions of the French king to Naples, based upon the treaty of Ferdinand on his marriage with Ger- maine de Foix, were undeniable, and consequently 1 Henri d'Albret II., King of Navarre, and Comte de Foix. He died in 1555. 222 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm engaged the more serious attention of the plenipo- tentiaries, by whom it was ultimately decided that in order to reconcile the interests of the two sovereigns Charles should pledge himself to espouse the infant Princesse Louise, the daughter of Francis, then about twelve months old, receiving as her dowry all the claims of her father to the Neapolitan domin- ions ; but as it was stipulated that the baby-bride should remain under the guardianship of Queen Claude until her eighth year, and that the marriage should not be solemnized until she had attained her twelfth, Charles, who was at that moment in posses- sion of Naples, was to pay the annual sum of a hundred thousand crowns to the King of France until the period of the union ; and one -half the amount yearly, so long as the princess should con- tinue childless. Such were the conditions of the peace of Noyon, which afforded a transient season of repose to the respective subjects of both potentates, and was accordingly welcome to all ; but it is nevertheless certain that the more able diplomacy of M. de Chievres had rendered the treaty infinitely more favourable to his master than it would have been had the actual position of Francis been brought more skilfully to bear upon the several questions at issue. Charles could command no sure ingress to his Spanish territories ; party spirit was strong against him ; he was inexperienced in war, and had yet to establish the reputation as a soldier which Francis had already acquired ; while even his claim 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 223 upon Naples was a divided one. Yet no real advan- tage was secured to the French king by the league into which he had just entered ; the project of mar- riage was a mere chimera, advanced as a pretext rather than considered as a condition, which, how- ever well it served to disguise the fact that Charles was in truth paying, or about to pay, an annual tribute to his brother-monarch for that moiety of the crown of Naples which was thus ceded to him, by no means enhanced the interests of Francis, to whom such an equivalent was altogether inadequate. The Navar- rese question, moreover, was virtually still as un- decided as ever ; for while Charles had bound him- self vaguely to see justice done, he had been careful not to specify any particular point upon which his intentions might at once be brought to bear ; while Francis had retained his right, in the event of this not being accomplished, not only to assist the interests of the queen of Navarre against Charles himself, but even to uphold the Venetians in their opposition to Maximilian. As this latter privilege, however, threatened to overthrow the designs of Charles, he prevailed upon the emperor to join in the league ; and his imperial majesty was induced to acquiesce in the suggestion by the offer of a hundred thousand crowns from the state of Venice, and a conviction that Verona could not longer resist the combined attacks of the army of Lautrec, and the famine by which the garrison was already exposed to great and hopeless privations. The accession of Maximilian to the treaty hushed 224 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, vm the tempest of war which had so long agitated Europe ; for although Francis restored the evacuated city to the Venetians, who once more saw themselves in possession of nearly all the provinces which Louis XII. had endeavoured to wrench from them in 1508, they were still so despoiled and depopulated that they were deprived of all the elements of self-defence ; while the continued animosity of the Swiss towards France had weakened the resources of Francis him- self, a fact of which he was so well aware that the league was no sooner formally completed than he took instant measures to conciliate all the neighbour- ing nations ; and despatched his uncle, the Bastard of Savoy, Louis de Forbins, and Charles du Plessis to Fribourg, to open a fresh negotiation with the whole Helvetic body, and to propose to them an extension of the peace which had been concluded between himself and eight of their cantons during the previous year. This treaty of " perpetual amity " between France and Switzerland was discussed, framed, and signed on the 2gth of November 1517 ; and the pledge then given by the Swiss never again to bear arms against the French was strictly observed, save in the case of a few adventurers, who, incited by the prospect of greater gain, or influenced by the vio- lent and undying hatred of the Cardinal of Sion, oc- casionally enrolled themselves in the ranks of the enemy. By the same document the Swiss recognized the claim of Francis I. to the Milanese ; while he agreed to accord a free amnesty to all the natives of that 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 225 province who had taken refuge in Switzerland, and to pay off the demands of the troops for past services by the sum of seven hundred thousand golden crowns, with other donations and privileges, which were all clearly defined. VOL. i 15 CHAPTER IX Domestic life of Francis The Court of Queen Claude Anticipated birth of a dauphin Circle of Madame d'Angouleme Licentiousness of the young king He resolves to form a distinct Court The Comtesse de Chateau- briand Her birth and girlhood Her marriage The count is summoned to Court His forebodings The mystic rings Mistaken confidence Reception of the count by Francis Treachery of a confidant The countess arrives at Chambord Displeasure of her husband A misunder- standing The queen's reception Presentation of the countess to the king The queen and the countess Mistaken violence of M. de Chateau- briand The influence of a Court atmosphere Policy of Louise de Savoie M. de Chateaubriand retires from the Court. THUS far the rapid march of more important events has compelled us to pass over in silence the domes- tic, or rather the private, avocations of Francis, who, finding himself at length enabled by a temporary peace to indulge in those libertine pursuits to which he was so painfully addicted, soon wearied of the staid and rigorous circle which his virtuous queen had gathered about her, as well as of the strict re- tirement to which she was at this moment compelled by the delicate condition of her health, which gave renewed hope of the birth of a dauphin ; and for a time he passed all his leisure hours in the lighter Court of his mother, where beauty and licentiousness alike attracted him. Unlike Anne de Bretagne, who COURT AND RETGN OF FRANCIS I 227 had stringently discountenanced the presence of ladies at the public festivities, and only suffered them to appear upon occasions of ceremony, where they might serve to enhance her own dignity and that of the royal circle, Madame d'Angouleme had urged upon her son the expediency of including them in all the amuse- ments and pageantries which were constantly recur- ring, and of permitting them to assume their station as an integral portion of his Court a recommendation to which he at once gave his unhesitating assent ; and thus the wives and daughters of all the principal nobility found themselves emancipated from the shackles of that severe etiquette to which they had previously been subjected, and unfortunately soon overstepped in their pride of freedom the limits of that decorum which should have been their greatest charm. Soon, however, the young monarch wearied of the fair and frail beauties of his mother's circle, and aspired to still wider conquests. It did not suffice that he had sacrificed the honour and blighted the home happiness of many of the brave men who had fought beside him ; France still contained much that was at once lovely and high born ; and he ere long resolved to form a Court for himself which should surpass all those of the rest of Europe, alike in grace and magnificence, and in which women should reign supreme ; declaring that a " Court without ladies was a year without a spring, or rather a spring without roses." In furtherance of this design he summoned about 228 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix him all the wealthy nobles who habitually resided in their ancestral castles, and who eagerly responded to the call of their sovereign, and arrived at Amboise accompanied by the females of their families, many of whom were both beautiful and accomplished, and all flattered by so signal a mark of royal favour. One, however, failed him ; and that one was pre- cisely the individual whom he had been the most anxious to attract the young and brilliant Franchise de Foix, Comtesse de Chateaubriand, whose extra- ordinary attractions, despite the retirement in which she lived, had been a frequent subject of discourse among his courtiers. This beautiful woman was the daughter of Phebus de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, and of Jeanne d'Aydie, elder daughter and heiress of Odet d'Aydie, Comte de Comminges, and was born about the year 1495. The family of Foix was both ancient and illustrious, and recognized no superiors save the princes of the blood, although so much impoverished from the number of its male descendants as to leave the lovely and only daughter of the house without a portion consistent with her rank. Her extreme beauty, however, sufficed to overrule even this consideration, so important in all ages to eligible marriage in France, and brought to her feet the young and accomplished Jean de Laval de Montmorency, Seigneur de Chateaubriand, when she had barely attained her fourteenth year. In 1509 she became his wife, and, happy in a union which left her young and affectionate nature nothing 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 229 to desire, accompanied him to his castle in Brittany, where she passed the first period of her wedded life in peace and seclusion, without a wish or a care beyond the narrow circle of her home. This tranquillity was not, however, destined to endure. The Comte de Chateaubriand could not evade compliance with the expressed will of his sovereign ; but, tenderly attached to his young wife, he was anxious, before he suffered her to appear in the circle of the king, to form his own judgment as to the safety with which he might permit her pre- sentation. The known morals of Francis I. were not calculated to inspire confidence, and in the fair and graceful and gifted partner of his home the count had garnered up his all of hope and happiness. Thus then he revolved in his mind, with all the jealousy of deep affection, every method by which he might secure to himself the treasure of whose value he was so keenly conscious ; and so great was his apprehension that some of the profligate com- panions of the king might devise a method of wiling his wife to Court that he finally decided upon causing two rings of curious workmanship to be made, pre- cisely similar, and on the eve of his departure he placed one of them upon her finger, which he enjoined her carefully to examine, and on no account to follow him to Amboise, even should he write and direct her to do so, unless the letter contained another precisely similar. The young countess, overwhelmed by grief at his departure, totally un- acquainted with the Court, and desirous of no 230 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix greater splendour than that by which she was already surrounded, at once promised obedience ; and M. de Chateaubriand, saddened by her tearful caresses, and satisfied that he had made "assurance doubly sure," at length tore himself from her en- circling arms, and, leaving her to preside over his stately and gloomy castle, proceeded on his ill- omened journey. Unfortunately for the count his heart was too full to be subservient to his reason, and as he saw the distance increase between himself and the beautiful young creature who had so lately wept upon his bosom, his caution gave way before his jealousy, and he entrusted his secret to an old servant, of whose fidelity he believed himself secure. On his arrival at Amboise he was courteously received by the king, who greeted him with half-jesting and half- ironical reproaches that he had come alone to a Court where grace and beauty were estimated at their full value, an address to which he gravely replied by assuring the disappointed monarch that the countess had remained in Brittany at her own request, volunteering, moreover, to prove the fact of his assertion by writing in the royal presence, should his majesty desire him to do so, an urgent invitation for her to join him. Francis accepted the offer, which necessarily produced no effect ; and again and again the experiment was renewed at his request, but always with the same result, until the faithless varlet, to whom the count had confided his cherished secret, won over by the gold of M. de 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 231 Guise (who at once conjectured that there was a mystery attached to the unnatural persistence of the lady), and his lavish promises of the king's favour and protection to the delinquent, betrayed the trust which had been reposed in him, and told the whole story of the mystic ring. The result of such a discovery may be conjec- tured. The lacquey was easily bribed to possess himself of the important talisman, which was placed in the hands of an able craftsman, who in a very short time manufactured a third precisely similar to the duplicate provided by the count. The stolen trinket was then carefully replaced in its usual receptacle, and the counterfeit introduced into a new letter which the duped husband was induced to write, and which, in affectionate and urgent terms, invited the young and innocent recluse to repair without further delay to the Court, of which she was consti- tuted to form so bright an ornament. On the receipt of the important jewel the countess did not hesitate to obey the summons ; nor can it be doubted that she did so with alacrity. Buried in an old castle, with no other society than that of her confessor and her maids, and with no occupation save what she derived from her breviary and her tapestry-work, separated for the first time from a husband to whom she was fondly attached, and not without some of those vague yearnings after novelty so natural to her age and sex, it can scarcely be matter of surprise that her leave-taking of the sombre residence which she had so long occupied 232 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix was rendered as brief as possible, and that she was soon upon her road to that Court whence she had been hitherto shut out. At this period the royal circle had removed to Chambord, a locality to which Francis was greatly attached. The chateau, standing about four leagues from Blois, on the vast plain of Sologne, and be- tween the extensive forests of Boulogne and Bussy, had originally been a mere country house of the Counts of Blois, and was, even at the time of which we write, rather a hunting rendezvous than an actual residence. Situated in the near neighbourhood of the Castle of Romorantin, so long the abode ot Louise de Savoie, it had been the scene of many of the boyish sports of the young king, and was, to him, full of agreeable associations, for it was there that he had enjoyed the pleasures of the chase during the banishment of his mother from the Court, and he still retained his partiality for the old spot endeared to him by so many delightful recollections. It was to Chambord, therefore, that Fran9oise de Foix hastened on the receipt of the treacherous trinket, never doubting for an instant that in so doing she was implicitly obeying the will of her husband ; and this very fact was only another link in the luckless chain of the count's misfortunes ; as, had the Court been assembled either in Paris or at Amboise, the arrival of the countess might have passed unobserved, and time have been thus afforded for an explanation which would have enabled him 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 233 to effect her instant return to Brittany ; but the comparative solitude of Chambord rendered every new event of importance a matter of momentary amusement ; and, consequently, the fair traveller no sooner reached the chateau, attended by her escort, than the news of her advent became universally known ; and the astonished and mortified husband found himself utterly unable to avert the evil against which he had believed himself to be so securely guarded. Cold and constrained, however, was the welcome with which he greeted his beautiful young wife ; and they had no sooner retired to his apartments than he upbraided her bitterly for her want of good faith. The countess, bewildered in her turn by such a re- ception, sank into a chair, overcome by terror and distress, and, extending her hand to her irritated husband, displayed upon one of her slender fingers the two rings by which he had himself desired that she should govern her conduct. More and more astonished, the count flew to the casket in which his treasure had been concealed, and there, in its velvet envelope, still lay the ring in which he had confided for safety. " Are you now convinced, Jean ?" asked the weep- ing countess, who had anxiously watched his move- ments. " I am, madame," was the stern reply ; " and I have learnt that to your other accomplishments you add that of a duplicity and talent for intrigue of which I had assuredly never suspected you to be possessed. 234 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix Henceforward we shall better comprehend each other." " Count ! " exclaimed the agonized wife, wringing her hands, " explain to me what you mean. Have I done wrong in coming here ? Did you not yourself summon me ? Have I not remained contentedly in Brittany until the ring reached me, which was to assure me that I acted in obedience to your wishes by rejoining you?- Speak! In what have I failed in my duty as a wife ?" " The question is now needless, madame,' : was the rejoinder; "and a few weeks hence you will, in all probability, no longer have the courage to ask it ;" and he turned to leave the room. " Nay, Jean, you shall not leave me in anger," cried Fran9oise, springing from her seat, and grasp- ing his arm ; "only let me understand my fault, and repair it." " It is too late," said the count moodily ; " the evil is now, as you must have foreseen, totally irrepar- able. I never sent that ring, as you well know ; I have been deceived in you ; but from this hour I shall be enabled to estimate your affection at its proper value." " You never sent that ring?" echoed the young countess, upon whom the remainder of his words had been lost ; "whence came it, then ?" And she looked earnestly upon the hand which bore it. "Nay, nay; this is idle, madame," replied the count with a bitter laugh. " From whom could it have come save from him who, through your cour- 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 235 teous and indulgent agency, was enabled to have it made ? But let us bandy words no longer. You have taken your destiny into your own hands. You are now at Court, and have duties to perform with which even your husband will have no right to in- terfere. Dry your eyes, therefore, for within an hour you must wait upon the queen, and you have little time to spare. I will order your women to attend you." And, shaking off her grasp, he strode coldly from the apartment. 1 But even yet the young and pure mind of Franchise de Foix was unable to fathom the mean- ing of her husband. She only felt that he was changed ; how changed ! She only comprehended that he had ceased to love her, for she could not estimate the force of that engrossing and jealous affection which thus played the traitor to its own interests, and converted an attached husband into an ungenerous tyrant. But she had, as he had just declared, few moments to spare to such reflections. The queen held a reception-circle that very even- 1 "The story told by Brantome of a stratagem employed by Francis to bring this lady to his Court, despite the desire of her husband to prevent it namely, by having a facsimile made and for- warded to her of a ring which the count had arranged to send to his wife should he wish her to join him is no more worthy of credit than many other gossiping tales related by the famous chroniqueur scandalcux. He was not born until 1 540, therefore he personally knew nothing of the reign of Francis I., and very little of that of Henry II. His grandfather was page to Anne of Brittany, and from him and his father the Court scandal was obtained which Brantome gives, adding thereto the suggestions of his own depraved fancy. Some incidental remarks in the 'State Papers ' of 1 532 quite dis- prove the sequel also to Brantome's story." Lady Jackson's Court of France in the Sixteenth Century, vol. i. pp. 90, 91. 236 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix ing, at which it was necessary that she should be presented; and accordingly, with a sick and trembling heart, she resigned herself to the hands of her women, and when at length the count reappeared in order to conduct her to the queen's apartments, he shuddered as his eye fell upon her, radiant in youth and beauty and sparkling with jewels. The opposition which had been offered to his wishes had, as a natural consequence, only height- ened the curiosity of the young monarch ; and, ac- cordingly, the countess had no sooner paid her respects to the queen than, waving back the courtiers by whom he was immediately surrounded, he advanced a step forward, and with a courteous smile awaited her approach. " Nay, nay," he said graciously, as she would have bent her knee before him, "it is not for the fair Comtesse de Chateaubriand to kneel even to a king. You are welcome, madame, even although your advent has been a somewhat tardy one." " Sire," commenced the lady with a burning blush. " We know all, madame," interposed Francis with a gay laugh, through which pierced a triumph he was unable altogether to conceal ; " you are a votary of solitude, a lover of silent streams and hoary mountains ; but, believe me, these are not the only objects for bright eyes to dwell upon. We must make a convert of you, madame, or it will be said that our Court has lost its charm. M. de Chateau- briand," -and his lip curled for an instant as he addressed the count, whose moody brow sufficiently 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 237 betrayed his secret annoyance, and formed a singu- lar contrast to the curious and supercilious looks which were turned upon him, " we depend on you to inspire your charming wife with less gloomy tastes : you have already done this most loyally by letter, and must now complete your work. Once more, madame, you are welcome. In a few days your fitting post at Court shall be assigned to you. And now, gentlemen, to our games." And without awaiting the acknowledgment of the count he turned upon his heel, and approached a table covered with dice and playing-cards, which had been originally introduced into France in the reign of Charles VI. by the beautiful and devoted Odette de Champ- divers, for the amusement of that monarch during his paroxysms of insanity. In a few moments all the nobles of the Court circle were absorbed by the chances of the different games in which they were engaged, save only M. de Chateaubriand, who stationed himself behind the chair of the queen, while his wife, at her desire, seated herself on a cushion at her feet. The gentle Claude, accustomed to the triumphant demeanour and coquettish bearing of those beauties whom Francis, on their first presentation, had honoured by his particular notice, and totally unaware of the unworthy intrigue by which the young countess had been allured to the Court, found herself singularly attracted by the timid and lovely woman from whose cheek the blush had not yet faded ; and, as if to complete the discomfiture of the count, added her 238 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix own courteous reproaches to those of her royal husband. " But you have a child," she said, suddenly check- ing herself with a fond smile of maternal love, " and I can understand your reluctance. We must en- deavour to compensate you for such a sacrifice." For a moment the brow of the count cleared. His wife might yet be saved if attached to the circle of the pure-minded queen ! But again he glanced at her, as her beaming eyes were raised in grati- tude to her royal mistress, and he felt the utter futility of such a hope ; for the conviction fell cold upon his heart that amid all the galaxy of beauty by which he was surrounded he must look in vain for loveliness like hers. Nor was Francis, who, from the first moment of his meeting with the young countess, was, or be- lieved himself to be, deeply enamoured of her personal charms, and attracted by her graceful timidity, much more at ease than the count himself. Unaccustomed to opposition, and habituated, when it chanced to present itself, to overrule it by such extreme measures as tended to prove that neither his chivalry towards the weaker sex nor his grati- tude towards the most zealous of his subjects could turn him from his purpose, he was well aware that M. de Chateaubriand was likely to prove less plastic in his hands than most of those yielding husbands with whom he had hitherto been brought into con- tact ; while, conscious that the countess herself was as yet wholly unaware of the deception to which - 1 7 FRANCIS THE FIRST 239 she had fallen a victim, and detecting in her proud although simple bearing a sense of personal dignity which could not fail to delay, even should it not eventually altogether thwart his projects, he was, for the first time, almost at a loss how to proceed ; and it is extremely probable that had not the count, blinded by his ungenerous suspicions, himself alien- ated the affections of his young wife, Fran9oise de Foix might have escaped the snare which had been laid for her. As it was, however, the occasional privacy of M. and Madame de Chateaubriand was embittered by tears and reproaches ; and as every fresh courtesy of Francis towards his wife furnished the count with a new subject of invective and violence, it was not long ere the unhappy countess began to sigh for the hour which would summon her to the circle of the king, and thus release her from anger and contempt. . On the return of the Court to Amboise, Madame de Chateaubriand was welcomed with especial cour- tesy by Louise de Savoie, who had already ascer- tained the feelings of her son towards the young and brilliant stranger, whose eyes were even thus early learning to forget the use of tears, and whose cheek flushed, perhaps, but no longer burnt, under the gaze of the king. The heart soon loses its bloom beneath the language of flattery ; Frangoise had a sovereign at her feet ; the atmosphere of a licentious Court was around her, and evil advisers at her side ; while a deeply-rooted terror of the re- sentment of a husband whom she had unwittingly 240 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, ix offended, unhappily combined with these to dazzle, bewilder, and subdue her. She still trembled, but she did not turn away from the abyss which yawned before her eyes. Suspected by the man on whom she had lavished all the affection of her girlhood, and separated from her infant, whose purity might have enfolded her as with the wings of an angel, and saved her from herself, she sickened at her utter helplessness ; and at length forgetting all, save her own vacuity of heart, and dreading lest in some moment of exasperation her husband should brave the anger of the king, and immure her once more in his ancestral castle, with himself as her sole com- panion, she yielded to the dishonour which had been prepared for her, and added another to the list of those victims whom the licentiousness of Francis had already sacrificed to his selfishness. Madame de Chateaubriand, however, fallen as she was, still shrank from the publicity of vice in which some of her predecessors had discovered the proudest result of the king's attachment, and for a time the unfortunate liaison, was carefully concealed, although this could not be so skilfully accomplished as to deceive the anxious and watchful husband, or the experienced Louise de Savoie, who, discerning nothing more dangerous in the countess than her beauty, and satisfied that she had little to apprehend from her ambition, affected not to remark the de- votion of the king, and continued to lavish upon the new favourite all the graceful courtesies which could encourage her in her precarious and sinful career. 1515-17 FRANCIS THE FIRST 241 Far otherwise was it, however, with the injured count, who no sooner ascertained that his dishonour was accomplished than he instantly withdrew from the theatre of his disgrace, and retired to that peace- ful home in Britanny which the absence of his wife's affection had rendered a desert. He vouchsafed neither expostulation nor reproach ; the past, as he bitterly remembered, could never be recalled. His child was motherless, and she was now his only earthly link ; he had done with the world, and the world with him. Others who had been subjected to the like indignity might haunt the saloons of royalty, and sweep the earth with their plumed hats before the spoiler of their homes; M. de Chateaubriand was not of these ; he could suffer, but he could not stoop to kiss the hand that smote him ; and thus, without a word, without a sign, he departed from the Court, and his existence was ere long forgotten. VOL. i 1 6 CHAPTER X Francis forms projects for the embellishment of his kingdom and the encour- agement of literature Birth of a dauphin Francis invites Leo X. to become sponsor to the young prince The royal christening Resigna- tion of Queen Claude Marriage of Lorenzo de' Medici and Madelaine de la Tour-d'Auvergne Munificence of the Pope A fancy ball in the sixteenth century The bridal banquet Increasing influence of Madame de Chateaubriand Louise de Savoie becomes jealous of her power over the king Forbearance of the queen The countess pushes the fortunes of her brothers The hunting-party Lautrec appointed governor of the Milanese The recall of Bourbon Indignation of the duchess-mother Bourbon arrives at Court Love visions Jealousy of Francis The Chancellor endeavours to effect the recognition of the Concordat Per- plexity of the king Magisterial corruption Pertinacity of Francis Dismissal of the delegates Registration of the Concordat Demonstra- tion of the university Unpopularity of the king. FRANCIS having at this period repaired, in so far as it was possible, the error of which his predecessor had been guilty, by conciliating the Swiss, and be- lieving himself to be at once free from any imme- diate risk of foreign aggression and secure of the Milanese, in whose conquest he had consumed alike the revenues of the state and the first years of his reign, began to turn his attention to the embellish- ment of his kingdom and the interests of literature. Himself, as we have already shown, but a super- ficial scholar, he was nevertheless fully aware of the importance of introducing and encouraging a 1517-18 COURT AND RETGN OF FRANCIS I 243 taste for polite learning among his subjects ; and although his mind, when not engrossed by his pas- sion for Madame de Chateaubriand, which soon ceased to be a secret to the Court, was occasionally disturbed by doubts of the acceptance of the Con- cordat, he amused himself in forming splendid pro- jects, both as regarded the public edifices and the establishment of a great national college. For a brief period he was, however, diverted from this new and worthy ambition by the birth of a dauphin, an event which was hailed alike by the young king and his subjects with enthusiastic de- light. The infant prince was born at Amboise on the 28th of February 1517, and he had scarcely seen the light before Francis despatched M. de Saint -Mesme, a nobleman of his household, to Rome, at once formally to communicate this intel- ligence to the sovereign pontiff, and privately to invite him to become sponsor to the royal infant, and thus consolidate the friendly alliance which existed between them. 1 The envoy was most gra- ciously received, nor did the Pope attempt to con- ceal the satisfaction which he experienced from the proposition ; and after having sumptuously enter- tained M. de Saint- Mesme during several days, while the baptismal presents were in preparation, he finally dismissed him with great honour, and he left the Holy City accompanied by Lorenzo de' 1 Bacon, in his Life and Times of Francis /., attributes the over- ture to Leo X. ; but as the Memoirs of Fleuranges and Du Bellay alike assert it to have been the act of the French king, I have deemed it expedient to follow their authority. 244 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x Medici, the nephew of the pontiff, who was ap- pointed to officiate as his proxy, and the Florentine ambassadors. On the arrival of the illustrious party at Amboise, they were met beyond the gates of the city by all the princes of the blood and great nobles of the Court, by whom they were conducted to the king. The other sponsors selected by Francis to assist at the august ceremony were the Due de Lorraine and Madame de Bourbon, 1 and there was a smile upon every lip save that of the meek mother of the new idol, who at length found her last hope of re- gaining the affections of her volatile husband ex- tinguished for ever. She had trusted with all a woman's confidence that the birth of a son would restore him to her, but in the very tone of his address, as he coldly thanked her for the present which she had made to France, she read all her lone and loveless future ; and as her pale cheek fell back upon the pillow, she closed her heavy eye- lids to conceal the tears which would not be sup- pressed, and humbled herself in prayer. None, however, save her immediate attendants, were conscious amid the general joy that there was a bleeding heart beneath the proud roof of the palace of Amboise. Princes and nobles feasted at the table of the king ; the silvery sound of women's laughter echoed through the vast apartments ; the guards 1 The Loyal Servant states the godmother of the royal infant to have been the Duchesse d'Alen9on ; but it is to be presumed that the authority of Fleuranges, who assisted at the ceremony, is the more correct of the two. 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 245 were merry at their posts and the varlets at their toil. France at length boasted a dauphin, and every other consideration was swallowed up in that one joyous conviction. The ceremony of baptism was invested with all the splendour of which it was susceptible. Plumed hats and jewelled vests were mingled with brocades and laces ; the fairest and noblest of France were grouped with distinguished individuals of other nations, among whom one of the most remarkable was the Prince of Orange, who arrived, attended by a magnificent retinue, to offer his congratulations to the king, but was so coldly received as to retire in disgust and to volunteer his services to Charles o V., by whom they were eagerly and courteously accepted. The altar of the palace -chapel blazed with precious stones, and its aisles were heavy with the fumes of frankincense ; gorgeously attired pre- lates lined the sanctuary, and majestic women filled the galleries of the tribune ; harmonious voices pealed out the hymn of praise ; and the infant prince, shrouded in ermine and velvet, received the name of Francis from the courtly lips of Lorenzo de' Medici. The service once concluded, the bril- liant crowd swept onward from the chapel towards the great courtyard, which had been entirely en- closed both above and around with party-coloured draperies, in order to protect the guests from the weather during the banquet, the grand saloon of the palace having been found inadequate to afford accommodation to so numerous an assemblage. 246 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x After the repast, which was prolonged until a late hour, this magnificent temporary hall was illumi- nated by torches, and dancing, lotteries, and dice occupied the remainder of the night. Nor were the baptismal festivities confined to Amboise, for throughout the whole realm of France the people vied with each other in testifying their joy at the birth of a dauphin. The streets of Paris were filled with revellers, who were entertained at the expense of the authorities ; and at Orleans two temporary fountains were erected in front of the Hotel de Ville, which poured forth white and red wine from sunrise to sunset. The glad shouting of the populace responded to the pealing of the cannon from the fortresses, and for several days all business was suspended. Accustomed as he had been to the pontifical splendour of his uncle's Court, Lorenzo de' Medici was dazzled by the magnificence of all around him. The chivalric courtesies of the king, the gracious smiles of the regent, 1 the lavish profusion of the great nobles, and the extreme beauty of the fair women who thronged the palace, so far exceeded all his previous experience that he at once became reconciled to the will of his uncle, by whom he had been charged to propose a treaty of marriage be- tween himself and Madelaine de la Tour-d'Auvergne, the younger daughter of the Comte de Boulogne and Auvergne, whose sister had married the Due 1 Madame d'Angouleme was commonly so called after her tempo- rary regency. 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 247 d'Aubigny. This lady, who was young and ex- tremely beautiful, was connected with the royal family through her mother, who had been a princess of Bourbon, 1 and it was not without considerable disappointment that some of the wealthiest nobles in the kingdom saw her hand bestowed upon a foreigner. Francis, however, effected a sagacious stroke of policy by the concession, as he required in return a pledge from Lorenzo that both he and all his family should bind themselves to uphold the interests of France, with which this marriage would tend so closely to unite them. The Florentine at once acceded to this arrangement ; but, enamoured as he was of the fair girl who was about to become his wife, he was still wary enough to stipulate in return that the French king should withdraw his protection from the Duke of Urbino, whose ally he then was, and offer no impediment to his own attempt to possess himself of the duchy. To this proposition Francis, after some demur, in his turn consented, and preparations were forthwith commenced for the celebration of this ill-omened marriage, which was fated to exert so mighty an influence on the destinies of France by giving birth to Catherine de' Medici. Once more the halls of Amboise were loud with festivity and radiant with splendour ; and, on the 1 Madelaine de la Tour-d'Auvergne was the daughter and co- heiress of Jean, Comte de Boulogne, and Joanna, the daughter of Jean, Due de Vendome. 248 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x return of the bridal party from the chapel, Francis invested the bridegroom with the Cross of St. Michael, having previously presented him with an annual revenue of ten thousand crowns, and lavished upon the bride presents of the most costly descrip- tion. In this munificence he was, however, even ex- ceeded by the Pope, who, in the height of his self- gratulation at the new aggrandisement of his family, despatched both to the Queen of France and to the bride gifts of so costly a nature as to excite universal astonishment, among which (probably the most re- markable at the period) was a state-bed, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, and ivory ; while so great was his profusion that thirty-six horses were required to convey all these treasures to the capital. The most novel feature of the Court festival at this marriage was the introduction of distinct char- acter dances, executed entirely by the youngest and most beautiful women of the royal circle, who, divided into parties of twelve, each assumed some national costume, of which the illusion was further heightened by the accompaniment of corresponding instruments. As the number of these courtly cory- phtes amounted to seventy, the whole of the morning was consumed in witnessing their performances ; after which the king conducted the bride to the banqueting table, followed by her new-made hus- band leading Madame d'Angouleme, and having in their suite all the princes of the blood, foreign am- bassadors, and nobles, each according to his order 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 249 of precedence. As the last of the guests passed the threshold the trumpets sounded, and the king, ad- vancing to the upper end of the hall, placed his mother upon his right hand, and then, raising his feathered hat for an instant, motioned to the courtly party to take their seats. With the exception of the Duchesse d'Angouleme and the bride, no lady had a place at the royal table ; Madame de Chateaubriand herself, upon this stringent occasion of Court eti- quette, being compelled to forego her ordinary privi- lege. As the several courses were removed the trumpets again pealed out, and, during the intervals, the royal musicians kept up an uninterrupted stream of harmony. At the close of the banquet dancing was resumed, and continued until an hour past mid- night, amid a blaze of flambeaux and torches which rivalled the light of day. On the morrow the festivities were resumed, and jousts, skirmishes, sham fights, sieges, and other manly sports were varied by balls, mysteries, hunt- ing-parties, and such pastimes as might be shared by the young beauties of the Court, during several weeks ; after which the king took leave of the newly- married pair, who departed for Italy accompanied by the Due d'Aubigny, the brother-in-law of the bride, whom he had appointed his ambassador to the Pope, and who, in that capacity, acquitted him- self so admirably as to ensure the lasting alliance of the Medici with France. Never again, however, was the unfortunate Made- laine de la Tour-d'Auvergne destined to visit her 250 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x beloved country, to whose interests she had been a passive although a reluctant victim. In little more than a year she had become the mother of Catherine de' Medici, and was in her grave, whither she was followed in the short space of five days by her hus- band, both having fallen martyrs to a contagious dis- ease in April 1519. As the Court slowly subsided into tranquillity, after the almost delirious dissipation in which it had been immersed, the increasing influence of Madame de Chateaubriand became more and more apparent. She assumed no personal consequence, it is true ; but, urged on by her family, she evinced the most anxious desire to enrich her three brothers ; and, in order to accomplish this project, began to interfere in the affairs of state with a pertinacity which aroused all the jealousy of Louise de Savoie, who had been so long accustomed to mould her son to her will that she could ill brook the rivalry of power which was thus forced upon her. Nor was it long ere she became painfully aware that the contest was altogether unequal, and that the indulgence with which she had, from his very boyhood, encouraged the passions of her son was destined to prove her own punishment. Hitherto she had been all in all to him ; for the patient and neglected queen had put forth no claim to popularity, and had shrunk alike from every cabal which had been formed about her, devoting herself entirely to her children, of two of whom she was so soon to be bereaved, and to those works of charity and acts of devotion by which she 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 251 hoped one day to purchase the affections of her hus- band. The previous intrigues of the young king had been merely the result of a passing fancy, and, as such, incapable of weakening the influence of his mother ; and even in her first judgment of Fran9oise de Foix the sagacious duchess had not deceived her- self ; but she had committed the grievous and irre- parable error of forgetting that, little as the young countess might seek or estimate self-aggrandisement, there were those about her who, unlike her high- hearted husband, would not disdain to make her dis- honour the pedestal of their own fortunes ; and this was precisely that which came to pass. It has been already stated that, noble as they were by birth, the family of Franchise de Foix were by no means wealthy ; and it was consequently inevitable that, having once accustomed themselves to look upon the dishonour of their sister with indif- ference, her three brothers, Messieurs de Lautrec, De Lascun, and De Lespare, should regard her as the destined architect of their fortunes, and thus involve her in intrigues and cabals for which she was totally unfitted by nature. The first glaring instance of her unbounded influence over her royal lover was exhibited in the recall of the Connetable de Bourbon from Milan, where he had remained since its conquest as the lieutenant-general of the king, and the substitution of the Marechal de Lau- trec, whose ambition could be satisfied only by the highest and most honourable charge in the army. It was during a hunting-party in the forest of 252 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x Bussy, when, fatigued and heated with the chase, Francis reigned up his panting horse beside the palfrey of the young countess, and, with one hand caressing its silken mane, received with a fond smile her whispered compliments upon his prowess, that this great and eventful change was fated to be arranged. Long as she had meditated upon it, and anxious as she had become to ensure its success, a certain timidity had hitherto restrained her from entering formally upon the subject ; but on this occasion a single question from the enamoured monarch liberated her at once from her difficulty. They were alone, and secure for a time from all interruption, the hunt having led the whole of the royal suite to another and a distant quarter of the forest ; the sunlight fell in living mosaics upon the mossy turf, when the quivering leaves afforded it a momentary passage ; and the low sweet wind, as it wandered past, swept the long ringlets of the countess almost to the cheek of her companion as he leant towards her. " On the faith of a gentleman ! ni exclaimed Fran- cis, " you have followed the hunt bravely to-day, and have shamed many a cavalier, who will nevertheless 1 Foy de Gentil-Homme was the habitual oath of Francis I., and, indeed, the only one which he permitted to pass his lips. Brantome informs us that the three preceding kings of France had likewise each his favourite ejaculation ; and that a quatrain was written in commemoration, thus : " Quand la ' Pasque Dieu,' ddceda .... Louys XI. ' Par le Jour-Dieu,' luy succeda Charles VIII. ' Le Diable m'emporte,' s'en tint pres . Louys XII. ' Foy de Gentil-Homme,' vint apres . . Frangois I." 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 253 vaunt of his prowess at the banquet erewhile. But where were your thoughts, ma mie ? I could not watch them as I did your bright eyes and your slen- der figure." And he looked tenderly in her face, as though he already anticipated the flattering answer. " I need surely not inform your majesty that they were, as ever, fixed upon yourself ; but, alas ! not with undivided happiness," said the lady. "And why so?" demanded the king abruptly; "these are strange words from the lips of Fran9oise de Foix." " They are, Sire ; but they are at least truthful. Are you not all the world to me ? And can I reflect upon any possible injury to your august name with- out dismay ? " " You speak in enigmas, madame ; I scarcely know you in this new character. Explain your meaning, and let us once more understand each other." " My duty is obedience," said the beautiful countess, as she suffered her large lustrous eyes to rest for a moment upon the hand which was still plunged amid the mane of her palfrey, and then raised them timidly and tearfully to the face of the king; "with your image was blended that of the Connetable de Bourbon." " Ha! our good cousin Charles de Montpensier," smiled Francis; "and what of him, fair dame ? " " Simply, Sire, that your royal favour has rendered him too arrogant for the subject of such a master ; and that I have certain advices from Milan which 254 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x lead me to suspect his loyalty. Already the most wealthy and powerful noble of France, he has nothing to anticipate at home, and his ambition is no secret." Francis started, and sat erect in his saddle. " The duchy of Milan," pursued the countess, "would be a tempting exchange for the sword of connetable ; and M. de Bourbon has already secured the hearts of his viceregal subjects." " Ha, indeed !" exclaimed her listener vehemently, "is it so? In good truth this must be looked to. But in whom can we trust if Charles de Montpen- sier, whom we have raised to the highest dignity in the realm, turn traitor to our interests." " One for whom your majesty has done less," said Fran9oise steadily ; " one who still remembers at whose hands he holds his favour, and who has already afforded proof both of his loyalty and his devotion." "True," replied the king thoughtfully, and with a moody brow; "doubtless there are many such in our good kingdom of France, but the choice will be no easy one. Besides, Marguerite loves Bourbon like a brother, and will reproach me should I offer him an affront." " The loss of the Milanese would be an affront to your majesty which no reproach could reach," re- torted the favourite. " On the faith of a gentleman you are right, madame ! " almost shouted Francis, who was stung to the very core by the bare supposition of such an 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 255 indignity. " The connetable shall be recalled. And now, since you have become a counsellor, and plunged into the stormy sea of state affairs, you must complete your work, and help me to select his successor." " Your majesty has not forgotten Ravenna ? " asked the countess with her most sunny smile. The eye of the young king brightened. " Ha ! I read the meaning of that fair plotting face. No, ma mie, I have forgotten neither Ravenna nor the bril- liant services of your brother ; but you should also remember that he is already Marechal de France." "The Due de Bourbon is connetable," said the countess boldly ; " and, like Lautrec, owes his dig- nity to your majesty." " Why ! you have suddenly become as uncompro- mising as Duprat himself! " laughed Francis, as he touched her cheek lightly with his fringed glove. " Enough, however, for the present ; this shall be considered." "You will not consult the duchess, Sire ? " asked Fran9oise anxiously. "Not if you forbid it ; but here come the hunt, with De Guise and Fleuranges in the van. Ha ! on the faith of a gentleman, they have lost their quarry!" "And I my cause, Sire, the first which I have ever undertaken. Pardon me, I overrated my influ- ence with your majesty." And the spoilt beauty burst into tears, half of mortification and half of dis- appointment. " Fran9oise ! " exclaimed the young king, hur- 256 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x riedly extending his hand, which she clasped in her slender fingers ; "dear Frangoise, dry your eyes, or you will unman me. Your cause is won. Lautrec shall have the Milanese." The countess had no time for thanks. In another instant all the sportsmen were grouped about the king, the plumes of their hats mingling with the manes of their horses, as they were respectfully withdrawn ; the details of the unsuccessful hunt were rapidly given, and then, with tightened reins, the whole noble party galloped back to Chambord. Francis redeemed his pledge. The connetable was recalled, and the Marechal de Lautrec formally invested with the government of the Milanese, to the great disgust of Bourbon, who received with undisguised coldness the assurances of the king that he could not longer forego the gratification of his presence in France. In how far the arguments of Madame de Chateaubriand had wronged this haughty noble cannot be ascertained, although, from the almost regal state which he affected while at Milan, and the facility with which he afterwards transferred his services to a hostile sovereign, it appears probable that his loyalty might have failed before his ambition had he once felt himself assured of success in seizing the sovereignty of the duchy ; an inference which is, moreover, strengthened by his resolute and undisguised hostility to Leo X., the ally of his own monarch. Suffice it, however, that whatever might have been his ulterior projects, they were now overthrown for ever ; and he found him- IF S, tLtsf&J'' 2 R TITIAN - ? Y VOR^TF 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 257 self compelled to exchange his quasi-royalty for a less exalted station. Meanwhile, the indignation of Madame d'Angou- leme exceeded all bounds when she discovered that so important a measure had been effected without her sanction ; and as the identity of the new viceroy sufficiently explained by whose influence his eleva- tion had been accomplished, her hatred towards the favourite became more apparent. It was not, how- ever, for the compulsory return of the connetable that Louise de Savoie felt exasperated against the countess, but simply because the event demonstrated the immense power which she had obtained over the mind of Francis, and the assurance that thencefor- ward she must content herself with sharing the supremacy which had once been entirely her own. The arrival of Charles de Bourbon at the Court was, on the contrary, a source of satisfaction ; for, as we have already hinted, she had suffered herself to conceive a passion for that prince to which, despite the maturity of her age, she still trusted that he would not ultimately prove insensible. She was ignorant of his attachment to her daughter, and conscious that she was still one of the handsomest women in France, as well as the mother of the sovereign, she pleased herself with the belief that opportunity alone was wanting to bring him to her feet. Strange, however, are the mysteries of the human heart. Never for an instant had Bourbon forgotten Marguerite ; he still worshipped her as his first love; and when he crossed the frontier her image rose as VOL. i 17 258 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x freshly before him as on the day when her murmured farewell had fallen upon his ear like music in the saloon of Amboise ; yet, nevertheless, he no sooner encountered the smile of the Comtesse de Chateau- briand, his active enemy, against whom he had vowed an undying enmity, than he became her slave. Franchise, whose heart had, as a natural conse- quence, became vitiated by a career of avowed pro- fligacy, did not view with indifference the effect produced by her beauty ; and the prejudices and .suspicions of the king, already awakened against the duke by her own representations, acquired strength from the interest which she suddenly and unex- pectedly took in all that concerned him. Herein, however, Francis wronged the connetable, who, thralled as he might be and undoubtedly was by the charms of the young countess, was too proud to volunteer a rivalry with the Admiral de Bonnivet, and he had not passed eight and forty hours at Court ere he heard the name of that noble coupled with that of the king's favourite in a manner which reflected no honour upon either party. Some rumour of the same nature had also reached the ear of Francis himself, and he had even men- tioned the circumstance to the countess with an asperity which might have satisfied her that she had little indulgence to expect should he prove the truth of the report ; but Franchise had only found food for mirth in the accusation, and even mimicked with such charming talent the amorous looks and gestures of the suspected courtier that the wrath of the king 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 259 was converted into amusement. Brantome asserts that in order the better to hoodwink her royal paramour she did not disdain to make sport of the credulity of the admiral in supposing that one who was loved by Francis could for a moment be induced to listen to his own suit, declaring that she permitted his familiarities only because his conversation enter- tained her, and he made her merry even when her heart was sad ; and by these devices she turned away the attention of the young monarch, and directed his jealousy to a wrong quarter in order the better to pursue her intrigue. Be this as it may, it is certain that the distaste of Francis for the Due de Bourbon increased daily ; while the passion of Bonnivet for the fair favourite, which had become sufficiently notorious to furnish matter for the gossips of the Court, never for an instant affected his favour. His early attachment to the Duchesse d'Alen9on had been no secret to the king, and as he still affected the same hopeless devotion, Francis, convinced by the arguments of the countess, learnt to regard his attentions to herself as the mere chivalric services of a true knight to the most beautiful woman of his acquaintance. Amid all these intrigues the chancellor continued his efforts to secure the recognition of the Concordat by the parliament of Paris. Francis had solemnly pledged his word to the Pope that he would compel its observance, and was necessarily anxious to see his promise fulfilled, not only because it involved his good understanding with the sovereign-pontiff 260 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x himself, but because upon that understanding hinged his tranquil possession of the duchy of Milan. The debates upon the Pragmatic Sanction had also tended to increase the previous difficulties under which he laboured to a fearful extent. His personal influence in the elections had sensibly declined ; the morals of the clergy had degenerated, and serious abuses had arisen in the religious houses ; the most sacred considerations were sacrificed to party feeling ; all such individuals as were known to be in favour of rigid discipline were rejected, and men of more than suspicious morals were elevated to the highest ecclesiastical dignities. No unanimous suffrage could be secured even for the most eligible candi- date ; at every election there was a division of votes ; and as no final arrangement could be effected without rancour and vindictiveness, the one party insisting upon their majority of voices, and the other accusing their opponents of simony, the most dis- graceful processes at law ensued, in which neither exposure nor invective were spared. Although the conditions of the Concordat had never been officially promulgated, it had neverthe- less created universal discontent. The magistrates, indignant that their privileges had been invaded, and wilfully overlooking the fact that the Church could not exist in its primitive state in the sixteenth century, loudly accused both their own monarch and the Pope of having assumed to themselves a power to which they had no pretension, and, as a natural consequence, this bold assertion, coming from a body 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 261 of men deeply versed in ecclesiastical law, and basing their arguments upon the maxims of the two great Councils of Constance and Bale, produced a strong effect upon the minor clergy and the middle classes, who had long been accustomed to regard the decisions of those councils as their code of action. Nevertheless, Francis urged forward the recogni- tion of the Concordat with the pertinacity of a monarch who will tolerate no opposition to his will. In the month of June it was presented for registra- tion to the parliament of Paris, where it occasioned the most stormy discussions, and was openly opposed by M. de Sievre, the advocate -general, which so enraged the king that he despatched the Bastard of Savoy, his uncle, during one of the sittings, to insist upon its immediate recognition and acceptance ; instructing him, moreover, to remain until the registration had taken place. The first president expostulated warmly upon this innovation, representing to M. de Savoie that he could not be present at the deliberations of the chamber with- out taking the oath as a member of its body, and requested him to retire, which he was compelled reluctantly to do, leaving his mission unaccomplished. The parliament, in their turn, sent their president, M. de la Haye, to remonstrate with the monarch, alleging that as M. Rene de Savoie was not a member of their body his interference was illegal ; an expostulation to which Francis only replied by the reiterated exclamation: ''He shall be there! He shall be there ! I will no longer tolerate the 262 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x cavillers who oppose my pleasure. I can replace them by better men who are ready to do their duty like loyal subjects." The delegates then ventured respectfully to remind him of the deference with which his prede- cessor had invariably received every remonstrance offered by his good and faithful deputies, but they had soon reason to repent their boldness. Francis was at this period at Nempont, near Montreuil, where he was engaged in strengthening the fortresses of Picardy, and in no mood to be controlled by forms or schooled into submission to his own subjects. He was piqued, moreover, by the inferred distinction between himself and the late king, and had no sooner heard the president to an end than he ex- claimed haughtily : " I am aware that there are men in my parliament who are both wise and worthy, but I know also that there are others who are auda- cious, turbulent, and mischievous. I am not igno- rant either of their identity or their arguments. You expatiate to me upon the justice of Louis XII. ; I am just also, but like him I shall know how to compel obedience." M. de la Haye would still have remonstrated, but the anger of Francis, who ill brooked opposition at any time, only became more and more violent ; and he finally dismissed his unwelcome visitor with a threat that he would send all who opposed his will to Toulouse or Bordeaux. Nevertheless, when he became more cool, he suffered the parliament to delay the registration of 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 263 the Concordat under divers pretexts, lest by too great a precipitation he should increase the distaste of the nation to a law which he considered necessary to ensure the welfare of the Church and the tran- quillity of the kingdom. The discussions accord- ingly continued from the I3th of July until the 24th of the same month, in the presence of M. de Savoie ; at the expiration of that period the whole body came to the decision that they could not register the Con- cordat, its provisions being at variance with the Pragmatic Sanction, which they were compelled to observe, declaring at the same time that in order to enact an affair of such paramount importance it was necessary to convene a national council. Renewed negotiations were then opened between the Court and the parliament, but no satisfactory result could be obtained ; and on the 1 3th of January 1518 the counsellors, Messrs, de Soyen and Verjus, were deputed to wait upon the king, for the pur- pose of presenting to him a document in which they represented that he would compromise the independ- ence and dignity of his crown by such a submission to the Pope, and at the same time diminish the public revenues. The Court was then sojourning at Amboise, and although apprized of the arrival of the delegates Francis gave no orders for their reception or accom- modation, nor was it until the 24th of the month that he condescended to receive them, when, in reply to their communication, he coldly and haughtily remarked that his chancellor had overruled all their 264 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, x objections in a document which he considered as per- emptory and conclusive. The two counsellors re- spectfully requested a copy of this important paper, upon which the king lost his temper, and angrily declared that he would not consent to have an inter- minable process created out of a subject upon which his pleasure should suffice. "It would appear," he added sternly, " that my parliament desires to con- stitute itself a second Venetian senate ; but I will let them know that I am King of France, and that my will is law. The ecclesiastics who form a portion of your body listen to nothing save what affects their own personal interests ; they have become coun- sellors only the more readily to possess themselves of bishoprics and abbeys, and to delude themselves with the belief that under cover of certain privileges they are no longer my subjects, and that I cannot take their heads should such be my royal pleasure. They are deceived, however, as some among them may ere long discover to their cost. I will have no more of them in my parliament ; that they were ever admitted there at all was the act of my predecessors ; and my power is equally great to expel them and to establish a contrary law. The whole body has become over arrogant, and shall in future confine itself to the administration of justice, which is now worse dispensed than it has been for the last hundred years." It was at the close of the evening banquet that this unsatisfactory interview took place, and Francis finally dismissed the discomfited delegates with an 1517-18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 265 order to leave Amboise by six o'clock on the follow- ing morning, warning them that if they did not obey he would cause them both to be flung into the castle moat. After an audience of this description all further attempt at remonstrance was abandoned by the parliament, although they still pursued their discus- sions upon the question ; but the patience of the king being finally exhausted, on the I2th of March M. de la Tremouille, the grand chamberlain, pre- sented himself to the chamber during one of its sittings, and commanded its members, in the name of the monarch, to proceed immediately to the regis- tration of the contested Concordat, and to waste no more time in deliberating upon a subject which was already decided. As they still hesitated, some of his followers warned them to beware of further exasperating the anger of Francis, who had declared that should they persist in their contumacy, not only their own lives should be the forfeit of their dis- loyalty, but that he would annihilate the parliament and destroy the city. This threat proved success- ful, and the parliament consented to withdraw its opposition. The fact was no sooner promulgated than the university issued an order that solemn services should be performed in the churches, and peni- tential processions traverse the streets, as on occa- sions of public calamity ; while the parliament protested on oath that its liberties had been in- fringed, and that it had only yielded by compulsion 266 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, x to the will of the king. This done, the Concordat was eventually registered on the i6th of March, in the presence of M. de la Tremouille, with this final clause, which was a last and useless protest against the Act : " By the very express command of the king several times repeated." Nor was the opposition of the university less strongly demonstrated ; the most popular preachers denounced the new law from their pulpits, and the most learned professors from their chairs. All the printers of the capital were forbidden to put the obnoxious document into type, and so intemperate were some of the speeches made by members of both bodies, and so gross the strictures passed upon the king and his Court, that Francis at length found himself compelled to imprison several of the most distinguished of the orators, and to keep them in close confinement until the popular ferment had subsided ; passing meanwhile an edict condemnatory of the proceedings of the whole university, whose members were forbidden under heavy penalties thenceforward to discuss this or any other decree which had received the royal sanction. Thus the Concordat became a portion of the national law ; but although all open opposition was necessarily at an end, it had to encounter evasions and quibbles so artfully conceived and skilfully exe- cuted that Francis derived little benefit from its enforcement, while he was made painfully aware that by his pertinacity he had sacrificed his popu- larity and estranged the affections of his people. CHAPTER XI 1518 . The progress of literature Leonardo da Vinci Native talent Tact of Francis An Italian charlatan Erasmus invited to France He refuses to leave England Cupidity of Leo X. Martin Luther Increasing favour of Madame de Chateaubriand Unbounded authority of Louise de Savoie Arrogance of the French king His profusion Lautrec disgusts the Milanese The Marechal Trivulzio Intrigues of the favourite Trivulzio is declared a traitor He demands an audience of the king Is refused, and dies broken-hearted The vacant bdton is conferred upon M. de Lescun. IT has been already stated that the early studies of Francis I., however judiciously planned and admir- ably conceived, had failed to render him an accom- plished scholar, but they had nevertheless taught him to estimate at their true value those more highly gifted than himself, and to render him eager to assemble about him all who were most distinguished in literature and art throughout Europe. Accord- ingly the Concordat was no sooner registered than he turned his attention to this important point, and the first celebrated man whom he invited to his Court was Leonardo da Vinci, who had founded the schools of Florence and Milan, and through whom he entered into correspondence with the most famous architects of Italy, in order to secure their advice and assistance in the construction of the 268 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi public monuments which he was anxious to erect. The Royal College, to which allusion has already been made, was, however, the principal object that occupied his mind. The encouragement afforded to literature by Louis XII., and the services rendered to oriental learning by the Greek savant John Las- caris, during the same reign, had given an impetus to native talent which had already produced most beneficial effects in the persons of Budee, Danes, 1 Du Chatel, 2 Cop, 3 and many other distinguished students ; while the amiable and accomplished Etienne Poucher, 4 Bishop of Paris, Guillaume Petit, Jacques Colin, Guillaume Pelissier, and several more individuals of equal reputation for talent and erudi- tion, formed a nucleus worthy of the great names which ere long gathered about them from all the 1 Pierre Dane's was born in Paris in 1497, was appointed by Francis I. Professor of Greek at the Royal College, and became the tutor of many illustrious men. He was subsequently preceptor and confessor of the Dauphin, afterwards Francis 1 1. Deputed to attend the Council of Trent in 1546, he produced a powerful effect by his extraordinary eloquence, and in 1557 was made Bishop of Lavaur. He resigned his see in 1576, and died in 1577. He is believed to have been the author of the famous treatise, De Ecclesia Ritibus, published under the name of the president Duranti. 2 Pierre Du Chatel, or Castellanus, one of the most learned pre- lates of the sixteenth century, was born at Arc-en-Barrois. He was reader and librarian to Francis I., who gave him the bishopric of Tulle in 1539, and that of Mac,on in 1544. Created great-almoner of France in 1548, he became Bishop of Orleans in 1551, and died the following year. He was intimately versed in the oriental lan- guages. 3 Guillaume Cop was the most eminent physician of his time, and the original translator of the works of Galen, Paulus ^Eginetus, and Hippocrates. 4 Etienne Poucher had been chancellor during the reign of Louis XII., but had voluntarily sent in his resignation. He sub- sequently became Archbishop of Sens, and died in 1524, at the age of seventy-eight years. IS 1 8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 269 European nations. Gifted with extraordinary facility and a correct taste, Francis soon supplied, or rather concealed, his own mental deficiencies by the apti- tude with which he appropriated the ideas of those about him ; and as he passed every moment which was not devoted to Madame de Chateaubriand, or some one of her temporary rivals, in the society of the learned men who ere long thronged his Court, and whom he skilfully and unweariedly questioned upon the particular subjects for which they were especially celebrated, he succeeded in obtaining a vague and general idea of every branch of literature, which deluded the unlearned into a belief of his scholarship ; while it even deceived himself suffi- ciently to persuade him that he could acquire by this erratic system of study all the results which had only been attained by his interlocutors through long and weary years of labour and application. That he had thoroughly convinced himself of so flattering a fact is rendered evident by the naivete with which he on one occasion remarked, while speaking of M. Du Chatel, "He is the only man the whole of whose science I have not fathomed in a couple of years." As a natural consequence, the anxiety of Francis to attract about him all those celebrities by whose assistance he could either illustrate his reign or increase his own slender stock of knowledge, ex- posed him to the artifices of many pretenders ; and among the rest an anecdote is related by Alcyat 1 in 1 Andre Alcyat was a celebrated lawyer, born near Milan in 1492, and was invited to Bourges by Francis I., who was anxious to 270 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi one of his letters, of an Italian charlatan named Julio Camilla, who boasted to the monarch that he could render him a proficient both in Greek and Latin in the short space of a single month, provided that he would devote an hour daily to that particular study. He, however, exacted that no third person should be present, declaring that so important a secret must be divulged only to crowned heads ; while the re- muneration which he claimed in the event of suc- cess was a yearly income of two thousand crowns. Francis consented to these terms, and received the impostor alone in his cabinet ; but having, before the close of the second lesson, satisfied himself of the audacious presumption and utter incompetency of his master, he ordered him to leave the palace, and never more to appear in his presence, a command which was promptly obeyed, and the more readily that, instead of punishing the offender, he presented him with the sum of six hundred crowns, " to re- mind him that he had been closeted with a king of France." Other deceptions of a similar nature, to which he was occasionally exposed, did not, however, deter Francis from pursuing his great and laudable pur- pose. The object nearest his heart was still the foundation of the Royal College, and by the advice of Budee, whose modesty was as remarkable as his learning, he resolved to confide its direction to the raise the character of the university of that city, where he introduced the system of combining the study of the law with that of polite literature. He was the author of several works of considerable talent, and died in 1550. FRANCIS THE FIRST 271 celebrated Erasmus, who was universally recognized as the most erudite individual of the age. After having for a time adopted England as his country, where he had been entrusted with the education of the Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry VIII., Erasmus had made the tour of Italy, and resisted all the efforts of Jean de' Medici, subsequently Pope Leo X., to retain him in Florence, preferring to return to the land of his predilection, which he de- clared to be the most advantageous and honourable sojourn for men of genius ; but again wearying for change, he had ultimately taken up his abode in the Low Countries, of which he was a native, and whither he had been invited by the princess -regent, Mar- guerite, who was a zealous and liberal patron of letters. Erasmus had been recently invested by his royal mistress with the dignity of honorary counsellor, when Francis I. decided upon offering him the presidentship of the Royal College through the medium of Budee, whom his brother student was accustomed to distinguish by the honourable appel- lation of "the prodigy of France," and who was authorized to accede to the terms of the learned Hollander, even should they include a bishopric. Dazzling as such offers were, however, Erasmus requested time for reflection, and the negotiation extended over the space of eighteen months ; a delay which increased the anxiety of the king to such a height that he ultimately declared himself ready to subscribe to any conditions upon which Erasmus might insist. 272 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi Nevertheless the offers of Francis were ulti- mately definitively, although respectfully, declined, with every becoming expression of gratitude for the distinction which had been conferred upon him by the gratified scholar, who, it was ascertained, had determined, should he again leave the Low Coun- tries, to return to England once more, where Henry VIII. was urging him, by offers as brilliant as those of Francis himself, to establish his permanent abode. This disappointment, which had been utterly un- foreseen by the French king, necessarily delayed the organization of the college ; but more serious con- siderations diverted his mind for a time even from this engrossing project, and compelled him to turn his attention to a subject of more immediate and vital importance to the welfare of his kingdom. The Court of Rome having triumphed over the councils of Constance and Bale, through the submis- sion of the parliament and university of Paris, Leo X. hastened to profit by his advantage, and to de- grade religion into a mere matter of financial specu- lation. Empoverished by his love of splendour and dissipation, and believing himself to be above all further opposition or worldly responsibility, he had authorized the mendicant monks of the order of St. Dominic to disperse themselves over all the nations of Christendom, and to remit sins for certain stipu- lated sums, as well as to announce certain indulgences from the pulpit, which were to be secured by the same venal means. As a natural consequence his instructions were not only implicitly obeyed, but so 15 1 8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 273 perverted, through the anxiety of the community to find favour in his eyes by their success, that the people, scandalized by such an abuse of authority, revolted against what they justly considered as a violation of the most sacred privileges ; and while the parliament of Paris and the wisdom of the Sorbonne alike continued passive, while the council of the Lateran, having abdicated its authority, offered no protest against enormities which struck at the root of the religion they had been entrusted to uphold ; and worldly prelates, sold to a corrupt and venal court, looked on unmoved, a nobler and a purer spirit was aroused in an obscure class of the community, at which the proud sneered and the powerful scoffed. A poor monk of St. Augustin, the child of needy parents, himself vowed to poverty and privation, MARTIN LUTHER, already celebrated even in his com- parative obscurity for the lucidity of his judgment, the extraordinary energy of his mind, and the unpretending piety of his character, scandalized at the dishonour brought upon the religion to which he had devoted himself by the unblushing extor- tions of Leo X., Luther, careless of the danger to which he was exposed by so hazardous a pro- ceeding, first inveighed from the pulpit against the demoralizing and mischievous tendencies of these indiscriminate indulgences ; and then, perceiving how little effect was produced upon the passions of his auditors, who were all, more or less, in- terested in securing for themselves what, despite VOL. I 1 8 274 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi their disgust, their old associations led them to believe were a guarantee of impunity for their mis- deeds, he abandoned the pulpit for the desk, and with equal rapidity and skill composed no less than ninety-nine brief propositions, which he first read in the church of St. Wittemberg, and afterwards affixed to the door of the same church, inviting discussion, and declaring himself ready to maintain the position which he had assumed. He appealed to the authority of the Holy Writings ; he contrasted these with the fallible and interested testimony of human beings ; and finally, with the eloquence of inspired truth, he called upon the people of Chris- tendom to release themselves from the shackles of a superstition which degraded their most sacred associations, prostrated their most divine hopes, and rendered them the slaves of a deception which they must hereafter expiate by an eternity of un- mitigated and unmitigable repentance. There can be no doubt that the objections thus suddenly and boldly advanced by |" The solitary monk who shook the world," had long been germinating in his mind, and were thus abruptly called forth by the exigencies of the moment which opened up an extraordinary oppor- tunity for their demonstration. It is at least cer- tain that they produced, under the force of existing circumstances, an effect tenfold greater than they could possibly have done at any preceding period. The reason of all, and the consciences of many, 15 18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 275 were offended by so open and undisguised an ex- hibition of papal profligacy; while the character, talents, and even defects of the reforming monk secured for him a sympathy and an attention which gave weight and authority to his arguments. His impetuous and uncompromising spirit disdained all restraint, while his extraordinary and colloquial eloquence carried conviction with it. For a time, in all probability even himself unconscious of the extreme lengths to which his desire to abolish certain abuses must inevitably lead, he equally blinded his disciples to the fact that he was rapidly and surely undermining the foundations of that faith of which he had hitherto professed himself the humble follower; but, as in an ill -constructed edifice the removal of one prop loosens the tenure of the whole building, so did the energetic denuncia- tions and objections of Luther, fed by the opposi- tion which he experienced, shake the entire fabric of Romanism to its very base ; and as his capacious mind grasped the whole system of papal supremacy, he each hour discovered fresh reasons for a seces- sion which changed the face of Christian Europe, and was prolific of the most important results. For a considerable time both the Pope and the superior clergy regarded with contempt what they considered as the heretical but impotent endeavour of a vicious and powerless monk to reorganize the religious world ; a mere ebullition of vanity and verbal license which could be suppressed at any hour, but which might be more fittingly allowed 276 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi to perish of its own insignificance in the little city which had witnessed its birth. They had miscal- culated alike the nature and the talents of Martin Luther. Obstacles had no power to deter him from his purpose ; contempt passed him by un- heeded ; conscious of a mighty mission, he despised the suffrages of the powerful ; and still, in that quiet town, and within the hoary walls of its silent monastery, the work of God went on, to be em- blazoned thereafter in characters of never-dying light. Meanwhile, the influence of Madame de Cha- teaubriand continued unbounded, and she was re- cognized as the channel through which all Court favour might the most readily be secured. Louise de Savoie was, it is true, still at the head of a party who, aware of the volatile character of Francis, were confidently anticipating the early disgrace of the favourite ; but although they secretly predicted and even desired her downfall, they were not the less assiduous in their services. Her beauty, far from decreasing, appeared only to augment by time, and the passion of the king kept pace with it. Her smile was a sufficient recompense for the greatest concession, and her wish was a law which he implicitly obeyed. Stern and unyielding towards his ministers, in her hands he was plastic as wax, and she moulded him to her pleasure. Her am- bition increased with her consciousness of power ; and so completely did she contrive to thrall the reason of her royal lover, that although her liaison I5i8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 277 with Bonnivet had become notorious, and her advances to the Due de Bourbon had long been a theme of sarcasm to the whole Court, her in- fluence over the infatuated monarch was stronger than ever. Nevertheless, either from indolence or from habit, Francis permitted his mother to take an active share in the affairs of government, and to treat with the legates and ambassadors who visited his Court ; her splendid person, insinuating manners, and powerful understanding enabling her to bring to his counsels the most efficient aid. Equally indulgent to her own social vices and to those of her son, she troubled him by none of those representations or reproaches of which he was so impatient ; and he consequently felt for her a de- ferential affection which secured her lasting supre- macy. The queen, who, on the 28th of February in the preceding year, had become the mother of a third daughter, having at length abandoned all hope of enjoying the domestic happiness to which she was so admirably constituted to contribute, had ceased to evince the slightest interest in the events which were taking place around her, and was seldom seen in public, save on occasions of Court ceremonial ; while the wily Duprat, anxious to maintain himself in the exalted post to which he had attained, encouraged the libertine propensities of the young king, and surrounded him with com- panions little calculated to elevate his moral char- acter. 278 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi Francis had, at this period, reached his twenty- fourth year ; and to his naturally dissipated tastes he added a supreme contempt for all classes of his subjects save such as blindly lent themselves to his single will. He refused to assemble the States- General, or to recognize their right of opinion upon any public measure adopted by himself; nor would he suffer them to have a voice in the financial concerns of the kingdom. If Louis XIV., in the plenitude of his satisfaction upon finding himself King of France, was betrayed into the arrogance of exclaiming, " L ' Etdt, cest Moi!" it is certain that the same sentiment had previously been stringently enacted by Francis I. Nevertheless, however he might despise the opinions or the prejudices of his people, it is not the less certain that the young king avoided as much as possible any lengthened sojourn in the capital, where his immediate circle was exposed to the scrutiny and comments of the citizens ; and, contenting himself by inhabiting the palace of the Tournelles during the winter months, he commonly spent the remainder of the year in travelling from castle to castle, accompanied by his whole Court, generally selecting the western provinces, and is- suing his orders in turn from Blois, Amboise, Ancenis, Verger, St. Germain -en- Lay e, and even occasionally from some obscure hunting rendezvous. The enormous outlay necessitated by this per- petual migration may be imagined when it is stated that Francis exacted under all circumstances the 15 18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 279 same ceremonious magnificence ; and, according to Brantome, his establishment exceeded all parallel ; "nothing," says the quaint old chronicler, "could approach it ; for there was his own table, that of the grand -master, that of the grand -chamberlain and chamberlains, of the gentlemen of the chamber, of the gentlemen on duty, of the valets de chambre, and many others all so well provided that nothing was wanting ; and what was most remarkable is, that in a village, or in the forests, or at a meeting, all were as well provided for as though they had been in Paris." Nor was this the only species of profusion in which Francis indulged. Careless of the calamities which he caused by overwhelming his people with taxation, he was lavish of the money thus obtained to all by whom he was approached ; and this to so extreme a degree, that the same writer from whom we have just quoted proceeds to say : " Every one was astonished how he could sustain and furnish the outlay of > such immense sums in war, and in gifts, above all to the ladies, for he made them great presents, and in such pomps, sumptuousnesses, magnificences, and superb build- ings. No great weddings were celebrated at his Court which were not solemnized either by tourna- ments, or combats, or masquerades, or rich vest- ments, both male and female, or suits of state liveries. I have seen the chests and wardrobes of some of the ladies of that period so full of dresses which the king had given to them at different fetes 280 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi and ceremonies, that they were a fine fortune of themselves." It will be readily understood that it was not amid such a career as this that Francis was likely to recall to mind the duties which he owed to the people over whom he had been called to govern, or to disen- tangle himself from the shackles of an unholy attach- ment ; yet the favour of Madame de Chateaubriand, had it been less steadfastly founded, might have sustained a perilous shock from the unbridled arro- gance of her brother, the Marechal de Lautrec, who at this period had by his extortions and assumption so disgusted the Milanese as to create great discon- tent, and to aggravate their dislike to their con- querors to a pitch which threatened the most serious consequences. He had, moreover, given great um- brage to the Court of Rome by subjecting all eccle- siastical affairs to a species of military ordeal ; while his demeanour towards the veteran Marechal de Trivulzio, who had formerly held the government of Milan, and now shared it with himself, completed the exasperation of the people. Trivulzio was descended, as we have elsewhere stated, from one of the noblest of the Lombard families, and had been induced to join the French army in order to assist in the overthrow of the tyrannical Ludovico Sforza ; nor had his services ended there, for he had subsequently devoted him- self to the interests both of Charles VIII. and Louis XII. with a valour and fidelity which was not ex- ceeded by those of any of their own subjects. Age I5i8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 281 had, however, tamed his gallant spirit, and he had retired to Milan in order to pass the short remainder of his days amid the friends of his early years. Un- fortunately, his universal popularity, and his great wealth, which enabled him to maintain a magnificent style of living, offended the vanity and aroused the jealousy of Lautrec, who could not brook to see himself eclipsed upon the very theatre of his triumph, and who, finding himself powerless to injure the brave old man at his own hearth, could invent no other method of gratifying his selfish malice than that of representing him in his letters to the Court as a dangerous and intriguing individual, who, pro- fiting by his knowledge of the internal economy and resources of the French nation, had placed himself at the head of a faction hostile to the authority of Francis, which, should it be permitted to mature its plans, might endanger the tenure of the Milanese. Urged on the one hand by the wishes of the Pope to recall Lautrec from his government, and apprehensive on the other that, should his report of the defalcation of Trivulzio prove correct, he should be favouring the views of the disaffected portion of the duchy by removing the man who had detected their intrigue, Francis wavered. His irresolution was not, however, long fated to endure, for Madame de Chateaubriand was near him at all hours, to silence his doubts, to strenghten his decision, and to stifle his remorse. Lautrec triumphed ; his acts of government were justified ; and the gray-haired Tri- vulzio declared a traitor to his adopted country. 282 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xi This accusation, uttered by Francis in a moment of passion, was soon communicated to the veteran marechal, who, jealous of his honour, could not brook so foul an insult, but forgetting his age and his infirmities (for he had attained his eighty-second year) made immediate preparations for leaving Milan in order to justify himself in person to the sovereign by whom he had been so cruelly mis- judged. The summer was at its height, and, compelled to travel slowly alike from physical weakness and the sultriness of the season, it was not until the be- ginning of October that the heartstricken old man reached Ancenis, where the Court then resided ; but, worn and suffering as he was, he lost no time in soli- citing an audience both of. Francis and his mother. Madame d'Angouleme, who had personal reasons for siding with the Comtesse de Chateaubriand in this emergency, peremptorily refused to receive him ; and although the king permitted his presentation, he simply addressed him with a few cold and civil words of welcome, and then turning upon his heel continued a conversation which the reception of the unwelcome visitor had apparently interrupted. Again and again did the veteran warrior entreat only to be heard ; Francis was inexorable ; and at length, finding that it was in vain to hope for a formal audience, and learning that the king was to pass on a certain day through the town of Arpajon, where he was then re- siding, Trivulzio, being too much enfeebled to stand, caused himself to be carried on a chair to the centre of FRANCIS THE FIRST 283 the street, and as Francis approached addressed him with the noble and touching entreaty : " Sire, Con- descend to listen for one moment to a man who has risked his life in seventeen battles for you and your ancestors." Francis looked towards him for an instant, but the influence of Madame de Chateaubriand was too powerful, his better nature sank before it, and with- drawing his eyes he passed on in silence. " Sire ! oh, Sire ! only one word ; " again uttered the failing- voice, but the king coldly pursued his way ; and the wretched old man, throwing himself back into the arms of his attendants, suffered them to carry him once more to his bed, whence he never rose again. His heart was broken, and he had done with life. Francis was no sooner apprised that the brave old marechal was dying than a feeling of re- morse for the harshness which he had displayed awoke him to a sense of his own cruelty, and he despatched one of the gentlemen of his chamber to express his regret that he should have exhibited so much rigour to one who had so nobly served the French nation. " I feel the kindness of the king," said the expir- ing veteran, " but I have felt his harshness still more deeply. It is now too late." In another hour he had breathed his last sigh ; and nothing remained of the noble victim of a licen- tious woman and an envious and unworthy rival save the affecting epitaph which, by his own direc- tion, was engraved upon his tomb : J. J. Trivul- 284 COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS I CHAP, xi tius, Antonii filius, qui nunquam quievit, quiescit ; tace ! Whatever might have been the feelings of Francis when he learnt that the brave old soldier had ceased to exist, they were unable to resist the blandishments of the favourite ; for, to the indignation of many who had fought beside Trivulzio, the baton of marechal which he had so long wielded with honour to himself and to the sovereign whom he served was bestowed upon Lescun, her second brother. Truly vice was at a premium in France in the sixteenth century ! CHAPTER XII 1518 Increasing popularity of Charles of Spain Bonnivet is sent on a mission to England A League is proposed by Francis to Henry against the Turks And the marriage of the infant Dauphin with the Princess Mary The reception of the embassy at the Court of England Bonnivet secures the interest of Wolsey Francis enters into a correspondence with the Cardi- nal Wolsey resigns the bishopric of Tournay Suspicions of Henry VIII. The treaty is concluded The hostages The betrothal at St. Paul's The French embassy leaves England The Earl of Worcester arrives in France Reluctance of the Earl of Worcester to deliver up the city of Tournay Indignation of M. de Chatillon The betrothal is re- peated at St. Denis The ambassadors leave France Francis fortifies Tournay and Terouenne The French king endeavours to conciliate Charles of Castile The Turks threaten Italy Francis declares his inten- tion of joining the Crusade Death of the Sultan Charles aspires to be elected Emperor of Germany Rivalry of Charles and Francis Maximi- lian demands the crown of Rome Intrigues of Leo X. Chivalric diplomacy Bonnivet is despatched to Frankfort Precarious position of Germany Death of Maximilian Its effect upon the affairs of Europe Francis bribes the electoral princes. THE increasing power and popularity of Charles of Spain beginning about this period to awaken the ap- prehensions of the French king, he became anxious to secure the closer alliance of Henry VIII., whose defection from his interests would effectually have destroyed the balance of Europe and involved the political ruin of France. Moreover, Henry was at best a doubtful ally under existing circumstances, for his jealousy of Francis was no secret, and his thirst for conquest rendered him a dangerous neighbour, 286 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn possessed as he was of the strongly-fortified town of Tournay, which at all times afforded him easy ingress to the French territories. Desirous at once to ransom the city and to secure a more complete and satisfactory understanding with his brother-monarch, Francis accordingly despatched to England the friend of his childhood, Bonnivet, on whose good faith and zeal he implicitly relied, and upon whose insinuating manners and courtly tact he calculated to effect a purpose which might never have been accomplished through the ordinary medium of state diplomacy. Conscious, moreover, of the vain and avaricious character of Wolsey, who had at this period become all-powerful with his royal master, Francis instructed his envoy to be profuse to the minister both in presents and promises before he ventured to open the negotiation on the subject of Tournay ; and meanwhile to represent to Henry, as the object of his mission, his own desire to asso- ciate him with himself in the honourable privilege of forming a league for the preservation of Christen- dom from the Turks, who had in fact assumed an attitude which rendered such a precaution highly necessary. This effected, he was further authorized to propose a matrimonial alliance between the Dau- phin, then an infant of only a few months old, and the Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry ; and above all to suffer no opportunity to escape of con- ciliating the haughty cardinal, without whose assist- ance Francis was fully aware that nothing satisfac- tory could be achieved, and whose personal pique I5i8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 287 against him was, as he also knew, sufficient of itself to bring about a war between the two nations. The city of Tournay had remained in possession of the English since the Battle of the Spurs ; but they could place little reliance upon its aid in the event of a frontier war, being highly unpopular with the inhabitants, and surrounded on all sides by both the French and the Flemish, who were equally interested in compelling them to vacate a fortress of that importance. Moreover, from its isolated posi- tion, it was rendered useless either for attack or defence ; but, despite all these drawbacks, Wolsey had caused himself to be appointed to its bishopric, and displaced for that purpose Louis Gaillart, the prelate elected by the chapter of Tournay, who, on his demission, had retired to the Court of France, greatly to the displeasure of the English cardinal, who considered himself aggrieved by the protection extended by Francis to an individual whom he had deposed. The first clause of the mission was, as may be readily understood, a mere pretext for the introduc- tion of the more important objects which the French king was eager to attain ; for the Pope, from the ridicule and disgust which he had brought upon religion by the indiscriminate and venal sale of in- dulgences before cited, had rendered the success of an European league for such a purpose as a crusade almost impossible ; and in selecting Francis as the sovereign by whom it was to be organized, he had been only actuated by a desire to arouse the romance 288 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn of his nature, and to induce him to absent himself for a time from his own dominions. Bonnivet, so soon as he was fully apprized of the wishes of his royal master, did not lose an instant in endeavouring to conciliate the English cardinal, whom he assured, in the letter by which he announced to him his intended visit to the Court of Henry, that the regret felt by the French king at the recent misapprehensions on the subject of the Due d'Aubigny and the ex- Bishop of Tournay, by which he had lost the confidence of so distinguished a person as his eminence, exceeded all bounds, adding that he trusted, when he should have the honour of a conference, that all would be explained to his satisfaction, and that he would restore to the French monarch a friendship which he highly valued. Wolsey, flattered by these overtures, returned a courteous reply, and immediate preparations were made for the departure of the embassy, which was one of exceeding magnificence. Not only did it comprise Bonnivet himself, and a number of great nobles and members of the council, but also Gouffier de Boisy, and Poncher, Bishop of Paris, all superbly appointed, and attended by so enormous a suite that, on their arrival at Greenwich, where the Court was then sojourning, on the 3Oth of September, their appearance created to the full as much astonishment as admiration. Their reception even exceeded their hopes. The social qualities of Bonnivet, the calm judgment of Boisy, and the meek dignity of the metropolitan 1518 FRANCIS THE FIRST 289 bishop, alike produced their effect, and Henry and his minister emulated each other in their efforts to render the sojourn of the embassy in England a period of unalloyed satisfaction. Every amusement which could be devised was put into requisition ; banquets, tourneys, balls, hunting parties, tiltings at the ring, and all the various sports peculiar to the age and nation, alternately occupied the time and gratified the tastes of the courtly guests ; and amid all this dissipation Bonnivet was busily and skilfully employed in advancing the interests of his sovereign. Respectful and earnest with the king himself, he became obsequious and almost affectionate with Wolsey, whom he justly considered as the actual monarch of the country, and accordingly the car- dinal, whose vanity was flattered by the distinction, and to whom it immediately became apparent, grew daily more attached to the society of the French ambassador, and more anxious to favour his views. All, consequently, progressed to the entire satisfac- tion of Bonnivet, who lost no opportunity of vaunt- ing the liberality and accomplishments of his young monarch, and at the same time of impressing upon the cardinal the weight which he attached to the good opinion and admirable counsels of so great a minister. Wolsey listened so greedily to these per- petual plaudits, uttered as they were, sometimes in the deep bay of a window during the intervals of a dance; sometimes in his barge, as the indefatigable envoy accompanied him to Westminster; and some- times in the quiet shades of Hampton, where the VOL. i 1 9 290 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn cardinal was then erecting the famous palace which outvied in its time those of royalty itself, and ex- patiating to his attentive listener upon the architec- tural glories which he meditated, that at length Bonnivet ventured to hint how anxiously his sove- reign desired the advice and assistance of his eminence upon a subject in which he was deeply interested. After a little diplomatic coquetry, Wolsey declared himself ready to aid the French king in any way not inconsistent with his duty to his own monarch, upon which the ambassador entreated him to place himself in direct correspondence with Francis, who would, as a natural consequence, express himself more confidentially to his eminence than he could condescend to do through any third person, however trustworthy. This was after a time also conceded, and forthwith letters were exchanged between the French king and the English cardinal which soon tended to secure the interests of Francis, although all was so skilfully contrived that Wolsey was en- abled to communicate each missive as it reached his hands to Henry himself, who, as he read the earnest appeals made by his brother monarch to his own minister for advice and support, laughingly remarked that his eminence must indeed be an extraordinary person if he could contrive to govern two kingdoms at the same time, but that he personally entertained no doubt of his capability even for such an under- taking, difficult and onerous as it was. Meanwhile the letters of Francis were accom- 15 1 8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 291 panied by the most costly gifts, to which Bonnivet affected to attach no importance, assuring the grati- fied cardinal that, should he continue his good offices to France, its sovereign would know how to recom- pense them in a far more efficient manner. The united flattery of the young king and his envoy proved irresistible, and at length Wolsey was in- duced to listen to the proposition with which Bon- nivet was charged, and not only agreed to exchange his distant and unproductive bishopric of Tournay for a life-pension of twelve thousand livres, but, in return for this munificence, also to exert all his influence over the mind of Henry to induce him to accede both to this arrangement and to the alliance proposed by Francis. These preliminaries having been privately ad- justed, Wolsey forthwith began to recant all his former arguments upon the importance of retaining the city of Tournay, and represented to the king that, upon mature reflection, he had arrived at the conclusion that the immense outlay necessitated by the support of a strong garrison in so isolated a position more than counterbalanced the contingent advantages to be derived from its possession ; its distance from Calais, in the event of a rupture be- tween the two nations, rendering it impossible to defend it, when it must eventually be lost to England, either through force or famine. He therefore strenuously advised Henry to accept the offers of Francis, who had proposed to purchase back from the English crown Tournay, Mortaigne, 292 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn and Saint Amand, at the enormous sum of' six hundred thousand crowns of gold, payable in twelve years, and to deliver into his keeping four gentle- men of his chamber and four of the royal pages as hostages, until the whole amount should be liquidated. As the king, only half convinced, and somewhat startled by this sudden change in the opinion of his minister, still hesitated, Wolsey reminded him that should he refuse to lend himself to the wishes of Francis upon this point, the French monarch would in all probability recant his offer of the hand of the dauphin, which was, with the sole excep- tion of that of Charles of Spain, the only alliance worthy of the Princess of England ; and that, more- over, Henry might deduct whatever should remain unpaid at the period of the marriage from the dowry of the bride, with whom the sum of three hundred and thirty -three thousand crowns had been de- manded. He also expatiated earnestly upon the immense advantages which must accrue to England from a marriage which would strengthen the friend- ship already existing between the two nations, and enable them to oppose the increasing power of the house of Austria, which, being already possessed not only of the Empire but also of Spain, the Low Countries, and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, was rapidly assuming an attitude that threatened the peace of Europe and the independence of individual nations. After some slight objections on the part of Henry FRANCIS THE FIRST 293 VIII., which were ultimately overruled by the argu- ments of the cardinal and the representations of the French ambassador, the treaty was definitively con- cluded, and Bonnivet bound himself to deliver into the hands of the English monarch the promised pledges, in the persons of Frangois de Montmorency, Seigneur de la Rochefort, Charles de Mouy, Seig- neur de la Meilleraye, Antoine des Pres, Seigneur de Montpesat, and Charles de Souliers, Seigneur de Morette in Piedmont, as well as the four pages of the presence, one of whom was the elder son of the Seigneur de Hugueville, the younger representative of the family of Mortemart ; and of the three re- maining two were scions of the noble houses of Melun and Grimault These important measures had been accomplished in the short period of six weeks, and at the termination of that time the cere- mony of the betrothal was performed on the part of the princess in the cathedral of St. Paul's, where the English and French nobility vied with each other in magnificence, and the most lavish protestations of friendship were exchanged. 1 The leavetaking followed ; and with the same pompous retinue as they had landed the ambas- sadors of Francis quitted the shores of England, amid the acclamations of the dazzled multitude. Shortly afterwards Henry despatched, in his turn, the Earl of Worcester, the Bishop of Ely, Lord St. John, Sir Nicholas Vaux, Sir John Pechy, Sir 1 The treaty of marriage between the two royal children was signed in London on the 1 4th of October 1518. 294 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn Thomas Boleyn, and a retinue rivalling that of Bonnivet, to Paris, as witnesses to the correspond- ing ceremony on the part of the dauphin, which was celebrated with equal grandeur in the metropolitan church of Notre Dame, and at the same time to receive the hostages and to deliver up the city of Tournay, according to the stipulations of the treaty. The mission was an ungracious one to the earl, who had been present at the taking of Tournay, and saw with regret so brilliant a trophy once more lost to England ; nor would he consent to yield up the city until Gaspard de Coligny, Due de Chatillon and Mar^chal de France, who had been despatched with a body of two hundred men-at-arms to take possession, transmitted to him his authority to receive it, together with a written acknowledgment that he claimed the place not as a right but as a gift ; a demand which excited much indignation among the French officers. Nevertheless, fearful of incurring the displeasure of Francis, they resolved to comply ; and, accord- ingly, the required documents were delivered to the earl on the following morning, and Chatillon no sooner ascertained that they had reached his hands than he advanced at the head of his troop with drums beating and colours flying, in order to make a triumphant entry into the citadel. To this arrange- ment, however, the English earl, already sufficiently chafed by the cession of the city, would by no means consent ; and he immediately despatched a gentle- man-at-arms to the quarters of the marechal, de- iSi8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 295 claring that, as the city had neither yielded nor been taken, but simply transferred by a marriage treaty, he could not consent to suffer that it should be entered after the fashion of conquerors ; and that the banners which had been so prematurely displayed must be furled before he would permit the French troops to pass the gates. This new affront was ill brooked by M. de Cha- tillon and his captains ; but once more they found themselves compelled to submit ; the obnoxious standards were covered, and they marched forward "with drums and minstrelsy" to the walls, where they were met by the Earl of Worcester and his companions, the papers which they had transmitted to him were read aloud, and possession of the town and citadel, together with all the artillery and ammunition that it contained, was formally delivered to them, after which the English nobles took their departure for Paris, to be present at the second ceremony of affiance. They reached the capital at the commencement of December, and such was the anxiety evinced both by Louise de Savoie and her son to secure the goodwill of Henry VIII. that no seduction was spared in order to induce them to prolong their stay. The most beautiful women of the Court were their constant companions, and festival succeeded festival with a rapidity which left them little time to devote to public business. The most superb horses and the richest jewels were profusely distributed among the nobles, while their followers were regaled with 296 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn equal magnificence. At length, however, they were compelled to take their leave, and Francis had once again leisure to turn his attention to more important objects. His first care was to restore the fortresses of Tour- nay and Terouenne, which latter had been destroyed by the English in 1513, to their original state of defence, and to increase the strength of the fortifica- tions of Havre ; while he was no less anxious to conciliate the Pope and the King of Castile than he had been to secure the alliance of Henry VIII. Even Lorenzo de' Medici was not overlooked, and Francis so far committed himself as to promise his assistance, should it be required, in any future attempt which the Florentine might make to augment his territories, notwithstanding that he had already unjustly possessed himself of the duchy of Urbino. The death of this prince in the follow- ing year, however, released the monarch from so dishonourable a compact. The Pope conciliated, Maximilian for a time at least powerless, and the alliance of Henry VIII. secured by the betrothal of the dauphin to his daughter, neither Francis nor his mother spared any pains to win the friendship and confidence of Charles of Castile, even while they were secretly engaged in frustrating his schemes of ambition. The Princesse Louise, to whom he had been be- trothed, had died in her third year ; thus a link was broken which they were desirous to renew, and in order to effect this they proposed to him her sister I 5 i8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 297 Charlotte, who was still an infant ; while, impossible as it was to speculate upon a marriage which could not possibly take place for many years, Francis still persisted, in order to keep up the illusion, in addressing Charles as his son-in-law, and in over- whelming him with professions of regard and affec- tion, which were intended to blind him to the efforts that he was in reality making to curb his power and to counteract his projects. Meanwhile the young king had not forgotten the mission with which he had been entrusted by the Pope, and in which he had urged Henry VIII. to participate ; although there can be little doubt that neither the one nor the other, when they professed themselves willing to undertake the expedition, was prepared to redeem his pledge. It was true that Selim, the reigning sultan, was equipping a prodi- gious naval force on the coast opposite Otranto, and that should the Moslems, newly flushed as they were with conquest, turn their arms against Italy or Germany, those countries might become an easy prey, and all Christendom in its turn be threatened ; but at this precise crisis it was rather the Pope him- self and Maximilian who were in jeopardy than either Francis or Henry, both of whom were more apprehensive of the European enemy beyond their frontier than of the infidel who might never dream of invading their territories. Nevertheless, the French king considered it ex- pedient as a measure of policy to declare himself ready to redeem his word ; and accordingly, on the 298 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn 6th of December 1518, he convoked an assembly of all the princes of the blood, the marshals of France, the captains of his army, the grand council, and the presidents of Paris, and announced his intention of joining the crusade. He also caused prayers to be offered up in the churches, and despatched informa- tion of his design to the emperor and the kings of England and Castile ; but although the whole nation were aware that the project had been pending for a considerable period, and that it was the result of a long negotiation with the sovereign -pontiff, this demonstration created little sensation in France, as a general conviction was felt that it would never be carried into execution. A few hot-headed young men, weary of inaction, volunteered to join the crusading army, but their enthusiasm met with no serious response ; and the death of Selim, which occurred before any steps had been taken to com- mence the expedition, at once put an end to the enterprise. Meanwhile Charles of Castile was not idle. The health of Maximilian, his grandfather, was failing, and he aspired to succeed him as Emperor of Germany. For several years Maximilian, ever needy, had been endeavouring to extort money both from Francis and Henry VIII. by an offer to transfer to them what he somewhat questionably denominated his claims on Italy, and which con- sisted simply in a project that he had mentally formed of uniting all the slates of that country and Germany under one sovereign. His demands were iSi8 FRANCIS THE FIRST 299 of course disregarded, and he was consequently irri- tated against both monarchs, and readily induced to favour the views of his ambitious grandson. As a preliminary measure Charles had applied to the pontiff for a grant of the investiture of Naples, of which Leo X. claimed to be the feudal sovereign ; and not content with this attempt, had also prayed to be recognized as King of the Romans ; while Maximilian, who was anxious to secure to him the empire of Germany, in his turn negotiated with the electors, 1 many of whom promised him their votes ; but a legal impediment rendered the election one of considerable difficulty, a circumstance of which the Pope skilfully availed himself. He had lost no time in apprizing Francis of the requirements of Charles, and the jealousy of the French king being immedi- ately aroused, he had urged the pontiff to withhold his compliance, and not, by an ill-placed condescen- sion, to peril the safety of the Holy See, reminding him that as Maximilian had never received the im- perial crown in Rome, he could claim no higher title than that of King of the Romans ; while he should have been crowned emperor before, accord- ing to the Germanic constitution, he could assume a right to call upon the electors to recognize his pre- sumptive heir as successor to the empire. More- 1 These electors were Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop ot Mayence ; Hermand, Count of Wied and Archbishop of Cologne ; Richard of Greiffenklau, Archbishop of Treves ; Louis, King of Bohemia ; Louis, Count-Palatine of the Rhine ; Frederic, Duke of Saxe, surnamed the Wise ; and Joachim, Marquis of Brandenburg. The Archbishop of Mayence was in favour of Charles, while the prelate of Treves defended the interests of Francis. 300 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn over, as he adduced, the grandson of Maximilian was King of the two Sicilies, and by the decrees of the Church, which had existed in full vigour during two centuries and a half, the crown of the empire and that of Naples could not lawfully be united on the same head. The Pope replied to the application of Charles by representing these impediments, which he de- clared to be insuperable ; but the young King of Spain was as pertinacious as his rival, and urged the emperor to announce to the Court of Rome that his election was secured in Germany, and to request from the sovereign - pontiff a dispensation which would set aside the constitutions of the Church. Francis, however, denied that such was the case, declaring that Charles had not been elected, and never would be so ; and that, moreover, he had been himself urged to advance his own pretensions to the contested dignity ; and he therefore in his turn prayed his holiness to be cautious how he endangered the permanent interests of the Church by setting aside her decrees, which had not only been the result of profound wisdom, but had now become doubly sacred from their antiquity. Maximilian then pressed the Pope to send the imperial crown to Vienna by a nuncio, authorized by his holiness to perform the ceremonial of his coronation, while Charles was betrayed into the injudicious measure of endeavouring to engage the French king to use his interest with Leo to induce him to consent to this arrangement, a request which 15 18 FRANCIS THE FIRST 301 was necessarily evaded by Francis, who counselled the pontiff to decline a measure which tended to lower the dignity of the Holy See, and to propose that Maximilian should proceed to Rome to receive the crown of empire from his own sacred hands. " Let his holiness," he added to the legate, "be under no apprehension, for assuredly he will not undertake such a journey without being well guarded ; and if he were even able to perform it at the head of an army, which is not probable, still let his holi- ness remain passive, and allow the King of France to act ; for as Maximilian will be compelled to tra- verse the territories of Milan or Venice, the king will immediately pass into Italy to protect his pos- sessions, and so well accompanied that he will pledge himself that Maximilian shall not reach Rome, but will be satisfied to retrace his steps." Leo X., however, could not overcome his reluc- tance to venture on so hazardous an experiment, and it would appear from a letter of the Cardinal de Bibbiena that he had already prepared a bull by which Charles was authorized to unite the imperial crown with that of Sicily, although he concealed the fact carefully from Francis until the result of the election should be declared. Moreover, he laboured assiduously to dissuade the French king from ad- vancing his claim to the empire, declaring that the interests of Europe would be better secured were some petty German prince invested with this high sounding title than the monarch of so powerful a nation as France ; and reminding him that Henry 302 THE COURT AND REIGN OF CHAP, xn VIII., who had originally expressed his resolution of contesting the dignity, had already abandoned the project. In the first instance Francis had opposed the King of Spain with an apparent frankness and generosity which were consistent with his reputa- tion for chivalry, declaring that the contest need in no degree affect the regard which subsisted be- tween Charles and himself, but that, on the con- trary, they had only to consider themselves in the same position as two young cavaliers, who, ena- moured of the same mistress, even while using their best efforts to win her favour, avoided all occasion of quarrel, and continued true and loyal friends. It was impossible, however, that so momentous a struggle could be carried on without bitterness ; the very consciousness which existed on both sides that each was strenuously labouring to undermine the interests of the other rendered such an attempt incompatible ; and while Charles was urging his grandfather to undertake the journey to Rome, and thus to remove one of the most serious objections of the Pope to his own succession, Francis despatched Bonnivet, whose successful embassy to England had inspired him with the most perfect confidence in his diplomatic talents, in disguise to Frankfort with large sums of money to purchase the votes of such of the electors as had not yet declared in his favour. Bonnivet was subsequently followed by the Marquis de Fleuranges and the Seigneur Albret d'Orval, who were also commissioned to forward by every means 1518 FRANCIS THE FIRST 303 in their power the interests of their sovereign ; but neither of these envoys acted with sufficient circum- spection, and all their proceedings were immediately known and thwarted by Charles, whose early habits of caution and prescience had rendered him a for- midable antagonist to inferior diplomatists. More- over, the position of Germany was at that moment extremely critical ; the attitude of the Turks was still hostile, and the nation was beginning to feel the shock of a mighty religious schism. Thus menaced both externally H " .1*4f f <-/ ^>